National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Dr Zafar Qadir on Monday told the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change that due to improper utilisation of aid for the earthquake 2005 and floods 2010, the flood-affected people of 2011 did not get much aid from the international community.
Dr Zafar Qadir further briefed the committee which met here with Dr Saeeda Iqbal in the chair that the 2005 earthquake and 2010 flood victims were not properly given the aid received through the international relief agencies and this was the reason why the flood victims had not received any aid.
He said the NDMA asked the Sindh and Punjab governments to allocate Rs 5 billion each and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan to allocate Rs 3 billion each. But KP had allocated more than the required funds and Sindh and Punjab allocated less than the required funds.
He said the Metrological Department of Pakistan had predicted 5 to 15 percent more rains than normal. “29.2 million people can be affected this year by floods and we need 486,666 tents, but we have only 61,465 at present. Similarly, we need 973,333 blankets, but we have only 198,096,” he said.
The chairman said NDMA office in Islamabad only has 134 staff members while the Asia Disaster Management had trained 300 people. He said that Economic Affairs Division directly dealt with international donors and international relief organisations.
He said the provincial disasters management (PDMAs) have given regulation of international organisations working in disaster areas and they also had the authority to look after the affairs in their relevant provinces. Senator Rubina Khalid suggested formation of a volunteer wing.
NDMA chairman said PDMA had asked for the creation of Disaster Response Force and only Punjab had made it. He said after the flood of 2010 and 2011 a lot of material that was stored in the stores was destroyed. “We had suggested a code of conduct for building to the CDA and it is so secure that if the intensity of the earthquake was over 8, the buildings would not have crashed. But the CDA is yet to implement the code,” he said, adding that there was no code of conduct for building in the rural areas.
He said Left Bank Out for Drain (LBOD) had been constructed without a design or a plan and that had created disaster situation for people in coastal areas, especially Badin.
