Relief efforts have been kicked off soon after the news of the earthquake. Once the dust has settled and the rescue phase is over, the primary responsible agency will be the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The military is already heavily engaged in rescue and assessment as are local civilian agencies; and international aid has been offered by both the UN and the US, but at the time of writing there does not appear to have been a request from the government for foreign assistance. It is fortunate that in most of the areas affected, the cohort of first responders and most of their equipment is intact. Thus far the governments at the centre and in KP have done a commendable job of keeping themselves focused on the response to the disaster, and the prime minister’s intention behind visiting the affected areas, particularly with the KP chief minister accompanying him, makes for all the right optics.The announcement of a relief package is also timely and the professed intent to coordinate with the KP government before finalising it is also praiseworthy. The lead role to be played by the National Disaster Management Authority in coordinating the damage assessment is important. The lesson in this disaster is the strong vulnerability of mountain communities, which are considerable in number, as well as the lack of an SOP to determine when a state of disaster exists and who takes over at that point to coordinate the response, and what tools will be made available to that lead agency. Once the crisis stage is over and the wounded are treated and the departed have been laid to rest, it would be a good idea for the government to work on these priorities to ensure that next time, should the scale be larger, the authorities are not overwhelmed. The search and rescue phase will be over within the week, the dead buried. In some areas most affected by the 2005 quake, there are still families living in tents on the hillsides. Pakistan is in need of an overhaul of all of its disaster and emergency planning protocols. Lessons can be learned, it is not impossible but there has to be consistency of political will and commitment for lessons to be carried through, to become actions rather than paper exercises. Natural disasters are always going to happen and Pakistan can and should be better prepared.
pk.shafaqna.com
