M. Zaidi in Dawn.com: The recent avalanche in Siachen that
buried 138 Pakistani soldiers and civilians in a mass of icy rubble once again
highlighted the devastation which can be wrought by natural calamities, and why
it is imperative to be adequately prepared for them.
Pakistan is exposed to multiple forms of natural and manmade
disasters. Natural disasters range from earthquakes, floods, droughts,
cyclones, landslides, and sea-based hazards. A relief and response model for
coping with disasters has been the basis of our reactive response to disasters.
Floods have been prevalent, and in the 1960s a flood control
programme was launched which made its way to the Fourth Five-Year Plan. The
national disaster plan in 1974 by the Federal Emergency Relief Cell was the
first plan which envisaged procedures, organisational structures, responding
agencies and procedures for monitoring relief operations. Unfortunately, the
plan never materialised beyond the paper on which it was written.
....The National Disaster Response Plan (NDRP) seeks to
upgrade the country’s ability to cope with all conceivable disasters. The
national strategy for disaster management in Pakistan classifies small, medium
and large-scale natural and manmade disasters in the country and corresponding
response mechanisms and procedures. It also illustrates structures and
mechanisms for providing operational direction to disaster management
authorities at the federal, provincial and district levels....
A destroyed bridge during Pakistan's 2010 floods
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