Peshawar: The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has formulated the province’s “first-ever winter contingency plan”, a news source reported. This proposal lays out instructions to deal with various natural disasters that the province encounters on a seasonal-basis — which can include landslides, flash floods, prolonged spells of drought, and seismic activity along the mountains in the north and west. Previously, the NDRMF had also allocated PKR 4.9 billion for the development of 10 risk-mitigation projects to protect vulnerable communities.
Assistant Director Information PDMA Latif ur Rehman informed the media that the threat of natural hazards escalated due to heavy rainfall in the mountainous regions of the province. Landslides and snow avalanches caused by these rains cause severe problems for vulnerable communities, and sever communication ties with the rest of KP.
Heavy rains can also lead to flash floods, and the problems they may cause are only aggravated by insufficient logistical resources and poor first-responding capacities; especially in cases of blocked land routes or providing assistance to remote regions in the province.
A Rapid Response Force for search and rescue operations and providing immediate relief and emergency healthcare has become necessary for this region. In this regard, the provincial government can call upon the Pakhtunkhwa Highway Authority, National Highway Authority, the communication and works department, Frontier Works Organisation, National Logistic Cell, and Pak Army to help-out when the need arises.
The Emergency Relief Cell will transport food, shelter and NFI with the assistance of the Pakistan Air Force if required, while NLC resources can be deployed to aid land-based relief efforts, according to the plan. Additionally, the telecommunication and energy authorities will restore services to the affected areas as soon as possible, while the health department will deploy all required resources to pre-empt onset of epidemics. The social welfare department in turn, will mobilise resources in order to restore the livelihood of vulnerable communities.
Secretary of the relief and rehabilitation and settlement department Mohammad Abid Majeed told the media that his office is making efforts by way of this plan to reduce the losses caused by natural disasters to life and property. The plan has been designed by closely monitoring and evaluating the weather statistics over the past 30 years.
