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Pakistan: Managing disasters without a policy

Source(s): Express Tribune News Network, the
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By Razzak Abro

KARACHI: The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), established to manage disasters of all sorts and reduce risk and vulnerabilities in Sindh, is still missing an all-out disaster management policy despite being active for about a decade.

Since its formation, the authority has been involved in relief operations and activities worth billions of rupees. However, the PDMA has not conducted a ‘vulnerability survey’ which is a basic requirement to assess the vulnerability of different parts of the province to disasters.

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In its audit report of the year 2016-17, the auditors also complained that the PDMA only focused on natural disasters like floods and monsoon rains and ignored other types of disasters, especially man-made ones. According to the auditors, addressing man-made disasters is also the prime responsibility of the PDMA.

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“The main reason for not having a disaster management policy is the absence of the vulnerability assessment survey,” he said. “The PDMA wanted to engage governmental organisations for the survey and since it would also include the assessment of cantonment areas, we did not want to take a private firm on board, because of which the survey got more and more delayed.”

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Themes Governance
Country and region Pakistan
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