Towards better disaster management
Shakeel Ahmad
Every time we are struck by a disaster whether natural or man made, it
becomes quite clear that we are ill prepared to deal with it. Location
of the disaster has no bearing on its outcome. A locust attack in the
Thar desert will succeed in ravaging everything that remotely looks
green, before we discover that the anti locust pesticide stocks are
exhausted. If new stocks have arrived, no one can find them. A fire
starting in one room of a high rise building in the capital will destroy
the entire building as the civic agency has not been able to procure
equipment required to reach fires beyond the second floor level. If the
equipment has been procured, the operators have not been trained. It
cannot therefore be operated.
Prestigious buildings fare no better. The National Assembly building was
gutted in full public view. The fire had started in one of the committee
rooms where the smoke alarm system did not function. It did not function
in other parts of the building as the Assembly Secretariat had failed to
sign the contract for the annual maintenance of the system. The second
line of defense was the fire hoses. Staff trained in their operation
could not be found. Transport was deployed to bring them from their
homes. After loss of valuable time it was found that the fire hoses were
useless as there was no water in the tanks dedicated for the purpose. As
a measure of economy, the motor pump operator had not been appointed.
We do not have a Federal or Provincial law on the subject of disaster
management. After the October 8, 2005 earthquake, a Disaster Management
Act should have been passed by the Parliament laying down institutional
and coordination mechanisms for effective disaster management (DM) at
the national, provincial, and district levels. This Act should have
mandated the creation of a multi-tiered institutional system consisting
of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), headed by the
Prime Minister, the Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMAs)
by the Chief Ministers and the District Disaster Management Authorities
(DDMAs) by the District Nazims/Deputy Commissioners/Political Agents and
co-chaired by elected representatives of the respective districts. These
bodies would have been of immense value in facilitating the needed shift
from the hitherto relief-centric approach to a more proactive, holistic
and integrated approach of strengthening disaster preparedness,
mitigation and emergency response.
What we do have is the Earthquake Relief and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA)
which was set up after the October 8, 2005 earthquake. It is headed by a
chairman appointed by the President and a vice-chairman also appointed
by the President. The mission of ERRA in its own words is: “to Plan,
coordinate, monitor and regulate reconstruction & rehabilitation
activities in earthquake affected areas, encouraging self reliance via
private public partnership and community participation, ensuring
financial transparencies.” The Authority cannot therefore undertake any
other disaster management activity unrelated to earthquakes. Parts of
the country have been seriously affected by floods in the past. If
nature is unkind and floods visit us again, Government may set up a
Flood Relief and Rehabilitation Authority (FRRA) to provide relief and
carry out rehabilitation of flood affected people. The desert area in
Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab is heavily dependent on annual rainfall.
Due to global warming, this entire belt was deprived of annual rains for
several years.
The drought posed a serious threat to human life as well as to
livestock. Emergency measures had to be taken to provide relief to the
affected population. Something known as Drought Emergency Relief
Assistance (DERA) project was launched. Quite surprisingly,
implementation of this multi million dollar assistance program was
undertaken by the Planning Division. If drought conditions re-emerge due
to global weather changes, we can expect the Government to establish a
Drought Emergency Relief Assistance Authority (DERAA). The possibilities
of various other authorities emerging in due course of time are immense.
The Ziarat earthquake in Balochistan has exposed the woeful lack of
preparation of Federal, Provincial and District Government authorities
to deal with the post disaster situation. An integrated process of
responses required in the specific situation was missing. No authority
was locally organizing, coordinating and implementing measures which
were necessary for reduction of risk due to after shocks, ensuring
availability of food and medicines and mitigation of suffering due to
severity of weather. Priority was accorded to damage assessment. But
this could have been done concurrently with rescue and relief efforts.
The District Government foisted upon the people was nowhere to be found.
In any event, it neither had the human nor the financial resources to
deal with the situation. It was distressing in the extreme to hear the
Chief Minister of Balochistan declaring on various TV channels that
responsibility for relief and rehabilitation rested with the Federal
Government. No one in his Secretariat has apparently shown him a copy of
the Constitution.
Disasters are sometimes classified according to whether they are
“natural” disasters, or “human-made” disasters. For example, disasters
caused by floods, droughts, and earth tremors are generally considered
“natural disasters.” Disasters caused by war, industrial accidents,
environmental pollution, electrical short circuiting and political
unrest are classified as “human-made” or “human-caused” disasters since
they are the direct result of human action. A more modern and social
understanding of disasters, however, views this distinction as
artificial since most disasters result from the actions or inaction of
people and their corresponding political, social and economic
structures. In other words, humans consciously or inadvertently create
the social, political and economic conditions which lead to disasters.
This happens by people living in ways that degrade their environment,
developing and overpopulating urban centers, or creating and
perpetuating political, social and economic systems that result in
unequal access to land and resources. Communities and populations forced
to settle along river banks, in areas susceptible to drought, urban
ghettos and near railway tracks are placed in situations of high
vulnerability because of their destitute economic condition and their
relative lack of political power. The vulnerability of the country is
compounded by indiscriminate and short-sighted economic development,
inadequate care of the environment, and massive deforestation leading to
changes in topography.
Disaster preparedness, as already stated, is a broad concept that
describes a set of measures that minimizes the adverse effects of a
hazard including loss of life and property and disruption of
livelihoods. Disaster preparedness is achieved partially through
readiness measures that expedite emergency response, rehabilitation and
recovery and result in rapid, timely and targeted assistance. It is also
achieved through community-based approaches and activities that build
the capacities of people and communities to cope with and minimize the
effects of a disaster on their lives.
As both man made and natural disasters take a heavy toll of human life
and property, drain the resources of the state and cause a great deal of
social unrest, it is necessary to formulate a comprehensive law on the
subject in consultation with all stake holders.
A well thought out institutional structure should be created at the
national level. Similar structures would be necessary at the Provincial
and the district level. ERRA and similar other bodies can all be merged
in the National Disaster Management Authority. The sooner this is done
the better for everyone.
The writer is a member of the former Civil Service of Pakistan. |
