Balochistan Caretaker Minister for Edu-cation and Tourism Prof. Dr. Qadir Bakhsh Baloch on Friday stressed the necessity of regularly orga-nizing simulation exercises to enhance stakeholders’ capacity in dealing with potential catastrophes. He commended NDMA for arranging a simulation exercise at the provincial level in Quetta and involv-ing academia in events of this nature to enhance preparedness for potential hazards. Qadir Bakhsh said SimEx is the best approach to prepare people for decision-making to take preventive measures regarding disasters. He emphasized that our attention is consistently directed towards addressing conflicts, often overlooking preventive measures. He highlighted that the increased risk of disasters is a recurring consequence of climate change.
He stressed the department’s concerns, stockholders and the community should play a role in overcoming the impact of hazards, preparing preventive measures and contributing to prevent the fast shift of climate.
He said that 90 per cent of every disaster had paid us heavy costs due to poor governance. Baloch said disaster management in real terms is preparedness and there is the responsibility of district administra-tion to respond timely and protect precious lives.
The minister said SimEx has provided a platform to enhance the capacity of district-level stakeholders in disaster management and promote collaborative efforts towards ensuring preparedness and response during likely disasters.
The purpose of conducting multi-hazard mock exer-cises was to enhance the preparedness and response capabilities of Balochistan’s disaster management agencies to deal with emergency-like situations.
Six syndicates participated in the mock exercise in Quetta, including representatives from the Armed Forces, Provincial Disaster Management Authority Balochistan, District Administrations, District Dis-aster Management Authorities, and NGOs They also acknowledged the role of NDMA in pro-moting resilience and proactive disaster readiness.
The syndicates emphasized the importance of plan-ning and strategic development in effectively dealing with various types of disasters. They conveyed that they have acquired valuable knowledge and skills to improve their emergency response capabilities.
They said that the exercise enabled them to prepare for potential disasters that may occur. They empha-sized the importance of disaster preparedness and training exercises like the SimEx, as they can sig-nificantly improve the response to an emergency.
Multiple scenarios for potential summer contingen-cies were simulated during the SimEx, including flash floods, earthquakes and cyclones. Participants expressed their gratitude and admiration for SimEx and its approach which helped them learn concepts in a better and more practical way. Participants declared the Simulation Exercise all-encompassing, much-needed, well-imparted and a wonderful knowledge-sharing endeavour to spread the word to others for the good of all and as a na-tional service.
