The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is in the process of hammering out a contingency plan to cope with possible future natural calamities to minimise losses by focussing on preparedness, Pakistan Today has learnt.
A study was underway on steps to prevent losses by implementing an apt preparedness framework, making the worst disaster in the past the baseline. NDMA Chairman Dr Zafar Qadir said that the plan will incorporate the possible extent of damages in different parts of the country, need for relocation of affected population, timely stockpiling of food and other relief items, boats, ambulances and trained human resource.
He said that the NDMA had sought release of Rs 20 billion for disaster preparedness and a summary had been sent to relevant quarters. Qadir said that $1 investment in disaster preparedness saved $10 in post disaster response. The NDMA chief said that Rs 5.2 billion had been spent on procuring relief items after 2011 floods while the government share in compensation provided to the affectees was Rs 10 billion. He said that the NDMA was also working on an idea of introducing disaster risk insurance in catastrophe-prone areas. Qadir said that talks were underway with various insurance companies and Swiss Reinsurance Company was also on board. The World Bank (WB) was assisting in developing the concept of disaster safety net, the NDMA chairman said.
He said that the NDMA had also proposed setting up of a disaster risk financing fund managed by corporate leaders, adding that the fund proposed to be established with government seed money would seek contributions from wealthy people and institutions. Qadir said that power and petroleum companies would be asked to allocate some share of the corporate responsibility fund. The NDMA chairman said that work on the first-ever disaster risk reduction policy was going on, which will be ready by April. He said that the recorded history of disasters in the last 300 years will be taken into account, adding that the district hazard profile was also being prepared identifying which districts were prone to which kind of disaster. Qadir said that a disaster response force would be established after completion of the hazard profile. The NDMA chairman said that all affectees of the 2011 floods in Sindh and Balochistan had gone back to their homes. He said that a minimum 100,000 houses were estimated to be reconstructed in Sindh and 10,000 in Balochistan. Qadir said that the Joint Disaster Need Assessment Report of the WB and Asian Development Bank was likely to be submitted to the government today (Wednesday).
