‘National Resilience Day’ marked in Upper Dir

DIR: Various stakeholders Saturday observed “National Resilience Day” at Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University in Upper Dir district in remembrance of the martyrs of the October 8, 2005 earthquake.

The objective of the event was to express solidarity with the bereaved families who lost their family members in the catastrophe.

The event was organized under the aegis of UNDP’s GLOF-II project, Provincial Disaster Management Authority, KP government and Federal Ministry of Climate Change.

Speaking at the event, Hamad Baig from GLOF-II project said: “On this day, we aim to raise awareness on the devastating impacts of climate-induced disasters with a special focus on disaster resilience.”

He said that considering the fact that Pakistan is ranked as 8th most vulnerable country to extreme weather events on the Global Risk Index, working towards building a disaster resilient Pakistan is a key priority for all, aiming to further empower communities to identify and manage risks associated with GLOFs and related impacts of climate change, strengthen public services to lower the risk of disasters, and improve community preparedness and disaster response capacities while targeting eight districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“We support the government of Pakistan in tackling environmental challenges, natural resource management, environmental protection, and climate change mitigation. Together with the Ministry of Climate Change, we work on integrating government priorities to the climate change agenda,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Director Disaster Risk Management Muhammad Javed said that in the 2005 earthquake, northern parts of the province were badly affected.

He said that the commemoration of the day was further aimed to raise awareness among stakeholders about disaster risk reduction and disaster risk management.

He added that risk and uncertainties are increasing in the region due to climate change, greater frequency of extreme climatic events, extreme minimum and maximum temperature and increased incidence of temperature influenced disasters and pests.

The incidents of GLOF have posed serious threats and challenges to the mountainous communities in the far-flung areas in recent times.