PRESENTATIONONDISASTER MANAGEMENT IN PAKISTANWITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE FEDERALLY ADMINISTEREDNORTHERN AREAS

By:Zafar Waqar Taj

CONTENTS:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.

(National Level)

Introduction
Hazards
Over view of major disasters
Seismic Hazard Map of Pakistan
Disaster related Legislations
Disaster related Organizations
Establishment of new organizations including
NDMA
VIII. Guidelines set by HFA
IX. Application of HFA Guidelines in Pakistan
X.
Efforts underway

CONTENTS:(Provincial Level)

XIII. Introduction to Northern Areas of Pakistan
XIV. HazardsXV. Vulnerabilities
XVI. Disaster Risks
XVII. Establishment of NADMA
XVIII.NADM Fund
XIX. Structure of NADMC, NADMA & DDMA
XX. Priorities for Disaster Reduction in NAs
XXI. Present position of NADMA
XXII. Salient Features of DRM PlanXXIII.Contents of DRM Plan
XXIV.Impediments
XXV. Recommendations

Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Area:

796,096 Sq. Kms

Topography:

ISNA

CHINA

NTA

GHF
A sandy deserts, plateaus,
Coastal Beaches,

NORTHERN AR
E AS

plains, mountains, snow covered peaks
Northern Highlands, Indus River Plains,
Baluchistan Plateau

Demography:
Languages:

167 million (34% Urban – 66%Rural)

Climate:ExtremeMulti cultural, Multi ethnical, Multi lingual(Urdu, English, Punjabi, Pushto, Baluchi,NASindhi, Hindko, Gojri, Kashmiri,
T Brahwi,
SI
Shina,Brushahski, Wakhi, KKhwar)

NA
IR

ARABIAN SEAPAIADIN

HAZARDSz Floodsz Droughts
z Earthquakes
z Cyclonez Flash Floodsz Land Slides
z Avalanches
z Infectious Diseases/Epidemicsz Human Induced Hazards

Overview of Major Disasters:¾ Floods:
Highest annual average number of people physically exposed to floods which
occur normally due to storm system from bay of Bengal during the monsoon
season from July to September.

¾ Drought:
Drought has become an intermittent problem in Baluchistan, Sindh andSouthern Punjab where average rainfall is as low as 200 – 250 mm. The
drought in 2000 and 2002 lead to 120 deaths and affected 2,200,000 people.

Overview of Major Disasters:¾ Earthquake:
Pakistan lies in the seismic belt and therefore suffers from frequent
earthquakes of small magnitude. The devastation can be immense
because of poor quality buildings.
1935Entire Quetta city was destroyed
2005
73000 Deaths, 130,000 injured¾ Cyclones:
Although not a frequent phenomenon cyclones can cause large
scale destruction to the coastal areas of Sindh and Baluchistan. The
cyclone of 1999 in Thattha and Badin Districts wiped out 73 settlements
and resulted in 168 deaths. The period 1971 to 2001 records 14 cyclones
of various magnitudes.

PERIODIC LEGISLATIONS:The National Calamities (Prevention & relief ) Act 1958.
Local Government Ordinance 2001.
Emergency Services Ordinance 2002.
SUPPLYMENTARY LAWS:
Pakistan Environmental Act 1997.
Karachi Port Trust (Amendment) Ordinance 1994.
National Fund for Cultural Heritage Act 1994.
Agricultural Pesticides (2nd Amendment) Ordinance 1995.
AJK Environmental Protection Act 1995.
Federal Environmental Rules and Regulations.

Organizations with Disaster related Responsibilities:
Emergency Relief Cell (ERC)
Meteorological Department
Federal Flood Commission
National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC)
Civil Defense
Provincial relief Departments
Provincial Health Departments
Provincial Agriculture & Live Stock Departments
Provincial Flood Departments
Provincial Communication & Works Departments
Provincial Planning & Development Departments
ArmyPoliceDams Safety Council
Space & Upper Atmosphere research Council (SUPARCO)Approach:
Conventional
Isolated from mainstream development
Relief & Recovery Based
Lack of coordination

TURNING POINT:(Mega Earthquake of 2005)
Date:
Magnitude:
Epicenter:
Depth:
Areas Affected:

Deaths:Injured:8th October 2005
7.6 Moment Magnitude Scale
Muzzafarabad
10 Kms
30,000 sq Km(NWFP, Azad Kashmir,Islamabad)
73,338 (Including about 18000 Children)
128,304

CHALLENGES:
Absence of Disaster Management Organization
Vast Affected Areas & Scattered Settlements
Inaccurate Damage Assessment
Inadequate ResourcesDestroyed Means of Communication
Dysfunctional Civil administration
Lack of Inter Agency Coordination

Earthquake Relief & Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA):
Formed in April 2006

Sectors:
 Hardware
9 Housing
9 Education
9 Health
9 Water & Sanitation
9 Governance
9 Power & Telecommunication
9 Transportation
 Software
9 Livelihood
9 Social Protection
9 Environment
9 Industry & Tourism

PARADIGM SHIFTS:
In view of vulnerability of the region need for an appropriate
policy, legal and institutional arrangements was felt seriously.
The National Disaster Risk Management Frame Work is adopted.
THE FRAMEWORK:“To achieve social, economic and environmental development inPakistan through reducing risks and vulnerabilities, particularly
those of the poor and marginalized groups, and by effectively
responding to and recovering from disaster impact.”NDMA
National disaster Management Ordinance promulgated in 2006.
Implementation of the ordinance would be ensured by NDMC. In
terms of section 9 of the national Disaster Management Ordinance2006, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) shallserve as the focal point and coordinating body for the execution of
the whole spectrum of disaster management activities. Allstakeholders including government bodies, agencies at the federal
as well as provincial level, armed forces, UN agencies,international organizations and NGOs shall work through theNDMA in all stages of disaster management.

HYOGO FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION:

**
*
*
*

Make disaster risk reduction a PRIORITY
Know the risk and take action
Build understanding and awareness
Reduce risk
Preparedness for active actionLine of Action adopted by NDMA Pakistan:
1. Make Disaster Risk reduction a Priority:¾ Gravity of the disaster and future risks compelled thepolicy makers for adoption of a comprehensive policy
based on disaster risk assessment for reduction &mitigation of disasters instead of relief orientedactivities.
¾ Realizing the importance of disaster risk management
for sustainable social, economic and environmental
development, the Govt of Pakistan has embarked uponestablishing appropriate policy, legal and institutionalarrangements at federal as well as provincial levels, tominimize risks and vulnerabilities.

Line of Action adopted by NDMA Pakistan:
2. Know the Risks and take Action:
 High Priority:
Floods
earthquakes
LandslidesFlash Floods
Infectious Diseases and Epidemics
 Medium Priority:
 Transport and industrial accidents
Low Priority:
Drought
Forest FireUrban Fires

Line of Action adopted by NDMA Pakistan:
3. Build Understanding and Awareness:¾ Medium term public awareness strategy for multiple sectors; e.g. civil
servants, staff of technical agencies, NGOs, media, politically effective
people and communities themselves.
¾ Orientation about disaster risks and vulnerabilities, skill development
on risk management, risk assessment, vulnerability reduction, hazard
mitigation and emergency response management.
¾ Specialized training in the areas of response also being envisaged; e.g.
search & rescue, first aid, fire fighting, evacuation, camp management
and relief distribution.
¾ NDMA is establishing partnership with electronic and print media anddevelop awareness of media personnel.
¾ The programme implemented at community and local level is at theheart of disaster risk reduction strategies.

Line of Action adopted by NDMA Pakistan:
4. Reduce Risk:¾ Risk reduction envisages strategies and plans to check occurrence and likely
damage by both natural and man made disasters.
¾ In the case of natural disasters the option is limited to taking precautionary
measures like adoption of earthquake resistant designs for buildings, ensuringstability of slopes to reduce landslides and avalanches, plantation to prevent
soil erosion.
¾ Man made disasters like fires and blow outs, collapse of buildings and bridges,
road accidents etc, require a well designed and implemented legal framework
to ensure that the risk to life, property and infrastructure is minimized.

Line of Action adopted by NDMA Pakistan:
5. Preparedness for Active Action:¾ Keeping in view inability of the existing emergency response system
in case of a catastrophe, NDMA is formed and assigned with the task
to develop an organized effective disaster response system at national,
provincial and district levels.
¾ This would imply development of institutional mechanism andtechnical and operational capacity of involved agencies.
¾ Revamping of Civil Defense Departments at federal as well provincial
levels would be critical.
¾ In addition other departments that need strengthening include the ERC,PRCs, Police, Fire Sighting Services, municipalities, ministries forinterior & health alongwith the NVM and other line departments.
¾ Forums need to be strengthened for collaboration between armed
forces and above mentioned agencies.

Efforts Underway:¾ Emergency Operation Centers (EOC) are being establishedat national, Provincial and District Levels under the overall
supervision of NDMA, PDMAs respectively.
¾ The EOC would lead coordination and management of relief
operations in affected areas. Civil Defense, armed forces,NCMC, fire services, police, ambulance services, Redcrescent Society, Edhi Foundation and other concerned
agencies will be coordinated by the EOC at respective levels.
¾ Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs) are being drafted,
which would define roles of federal, provincial and local
agencies for their involvement in emergency response.

Efforts Underway:¾ A database is being developed to record disaster response resources
available with different departments at district, provincial andnational level. The PDMAs DDMAs and MDMAs will manage thedatabase at their respective levels which would be interconnectedwith the main database.
¾ A national Disaster Management Fund has also been established bythe NDMA in order to enable the federal government to organize
emergency response effectively.

FEDERALLY ADMINISTEREDNORTHERN AREAS

General Information:z Area:z Population:z Density:z Districts:
z Languages:z Topography:z Geography:z Climate:72496 Sq Kms
About one Million
20.7 /Sq Km
6+1
MultilingualGlaciers, Lakes, High mountains, Snow Peaks,
Narrow valleys, High Plateaus
Wakhan-Afghanistan to Northewest, XinjianChina to Northeast, Indian administered Kashmir &Pakistan administered Kashmir to Southeast andNWFP-Pakistan to West.
Varies from valley to valley extreme -10 C to 35 C

DISTRICT WISE POPULATION OF NAs
DISTRICT WISE
POPULATION (in Million)
Gilgit0.247
Skardu0.219
Diamer
0.133
Ghizer
0.121
Ghanche
0.089
Astore0.074

SECT WISE POPULATION
Ahle Sunnat
Ahle Tashee
Ismaili
Noor Buksh
OthersASTORE, 8%
GHANCHE, 10%

GILGIT, 28%

GHIZER, 14%
DIAMER, 15%

SKARDU, 25%

35%
40%
18%
06%
01%

MAJOR ETHINIC GROUPS
SheenYashkun
Balti
Kashmiri
Dhom3Northern Areas Administration is headed by the Chief Secretary supported by 11
Administrative Secretaries, one IGP. and six Deputy Commissioners
Chief Executive
Northern Areas
Deputy Chief Executive
Northern Areas

Secretary KA & NA
Division
Chief Secretary
Northern Areas

Secretary
Tourism&Industries
BPS-19SecretaryWorks
BPS-19Secretary
P&D.
NAs
BPS-19Secretary
F&A/ Forest
BPS-19Secretary
Finance NAs
BPS-19

M.D.
NATCO

Chief
Engineer.
Glt/Blt

DeputyChief P&D
BPS-19Agri. Deptt

Administrator
Zakat & Ushr

S.E’s
BPS-19 =07

ForestDeptt.

K.K. Bank
NAs.

Secretary
W&P
BPS-20

Secretary
Education
NAs BPS19

Education
Deptt.
NGOs

Director
Colleges

SecretaryLaw,
Proec.,
L.G.&R.D.
NAs
BPS-19DSs HOME,SERVICES,GAD,REVENUE

Northern Areas
DisasterManagementAuthority

SecretaryHome, S& GAD
NAs.
BPS-19

PoliceDeptt
headed byIGP.

Secretary
HealthNAs
BPS-20

Secretary
NALC
BS-19

Directorate
of HealthServices
NAs

D.C’s =06
DHOs =06
DHQ Hospitals =05

XEN’s
BPS-18 =16

AnimalHusbandry
Deptt.

CircleOffice 05
DistrictFisheries
Deptt.

Director
Academics

RevenueandSettlement
Org.

Jail Deptt.
Director
Planning

6

Hazards:• Floods• Droughts• Earthquakes• Flash Floods• Land slides• Avalanches68

Vulnerabilities:• Scattered Settlements• Inaccessibility• Poor Quality Design & Construction• Fragility of Natural Environment• Deforestation• Harsh Climate

DISASTER RISKS IN NAsEarthquakes:¾

Entire NAs including its capital Gilgit lies in the seismic zone. As such occurrence ofearthquake tremors is common in the region. The earthquakes of 1972, 2002 and2004 caused wide spread damages to life and property.

Drought:¾

The drought during 2000-03 in NAs had affected about half of its population, mainly thosedependant on livestock production as pastures at higher altitudes were dried due toshortage/lack of snowfall. As many as two thousand yaks perished on the account ofinsufficient vegetation on higher altitudes.

Floods:¾

Delayed winters and sudden rise in average temperature (10 degree above normal)
resulted in excessive snowmelt lead to abnormally high water flows. On the whole fromDecember 2004 to August 2006 rain/snowfall and resultant floods affected as many as 91,
304 persons in the NAs.

Land Slides:¾

The NAs is vulnerable to landslides. Aside from the young geology and fragile soil type ofmountain ranges, accelerated deforestation is a major cause behind increased incident.
Frequency of landslides may increase in future since the forest cover is shrinking by 3 %annually. Moreover extensive explosive blasting along the KKH (Karakurum Highway)
during and after its construction and frequent earthquakes have caused cracks in themountains.

Avalanches:¾The NAs being host to the largest glacier concentration outside the polar zones andregular seasonal snowfall is prone to avalanches. A study conducted by the WAPDA inthe year 1988-89 under the snow and ice hydrology project identified the potential
avalanches paths.

Establishment of NADMAzzz

Following the catastrophe of 8th October 2005 the Federal
Government of Pakistan established NDMA and all provinces
were asked to do the same at provincial, district as well as
municipal levels.
In compliance with the policy of the federal government
NADMC & NDMA were established in January 2007.
At present a proposal for creation of posts, infrastructures andprovision of related requirements is submitted to the federal
government. The Home and General Administration
Department NAs is looking after the affairs of the NDMA
under the direct supervision of the Secretary Home and GAD
NAs who is working as the DG NADMA.

Establishment of NADMA FundThe federal government of Pakistan constituted
NADMA Fund on 15th November 2007 in
pursuance of Section 30 of National Disaster
Management Ordinance, 2006. The Fund shallconsists of assets, liabilities, fund equity,revenues and expenditures or expenses.

Utilization of Fund

According to the statutory provision the fund soconstituted shall be used only for Emergency:
a. Preparedness
b. Responsec. Mitigation
d. Relief and ReconstructionNORTHERN AREAS DISASTER MANAGEMENTCOMMISSION(CHIEF EXECUTIVE NORTHERN AREAS EX-OFFICIO CHAIRMAN)(Chief Secretary NAs as Chief Executive Officer)

NORTHERN AREAS DISASTER MANAGEMENTAUTHORITY(SECRETARY HOME NAs EX-OFFICIO DIRECTOR GENERAL)

LINE DEPARTMENTS
DISASTER MANAGEMENT SECRETARIAT, GILGIT

DISTRICT DISASTER MANAGEMENT AUTHORITYPROVINCIAL EMERGENCYOPERATIONS CELL

(HEADED BY THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONERS)DISTRICT EMERGENCYOPERATIONS CELLSTEHSIL UNION AND
MUNICIPAL/TOWN DISASTER
MANAGEMENT SETUPSCOMMUNITY BASEDORGANIZATIONSDISTRICT LINE OFFICES

Proposed Structure of NADMA – Emergency Operations Cell

AD EOCEOC Assistant

Dept./Agency Reps (as perrequirement)

Structure of DDMA & Respective EOC

Priorities for Disaster Reduction –NADMA
Phase-I¾ Institutional and Legal Arrangements:
9 NDMA/DMA established and functioning effectively.
9 Districts & Municipal Authorities established and made functional.
9 Introduction of a proper mechanism for implementation of National Building Code.

¾ Hazard and Vulnerability Assessment:
9 Information in digitalized form is available.
9 An atlas is published and disseminated to stakeholders at all levels.
9 An online open source database will made available for use of decision makers andpractitioners at local and national levels.
9 A study on the impact of climate change on the glaciers and ice cover is underway.

¾ Disaster Risk Management Planning:
9 To conduct courses for district and municipal DMAs.
9 Develop public awareness (Posters, brushers, videos, booklets, seminars, workshops etc)
9 Integrate disaster risk management education in the syllabus of regimental centers, police
recruitment training centers, schools and colleges.

PRESENT Position of NDMA in NAs• Home & GAD NAs is presently looking after the affairs of NDMA in theNAs.
• PC-1 for provision of posts and infrastructures is taken up with the FederalGovernment.
• Central Emergency Relief Center Gilgit with its branches in Skardu andGhizer is established.
• Merger of Civil Defense in NADMA is proposed.
• District and Sub-divisional heads of the GAD have been asked forcollection of information which can be useful for disaster response.
• Responsibility to identify hazard & risk and disaster prone areas is alreadyassigned to the field staff.
• Workshops and seminars are being conducted for promotion of awarenessamongst the general public.
• Campaign is launched for awareness and adoption of National BuildingCode.
• Disaster Risk Management Plan is drafted in consultation with theUNDP.

SALIENT FEATURES OF DRM PLAN
 VISION:
Safer Northern Areas
 Mission:
To manage complete spectrum of all types of disasters throughgradually moving away from response and relief oriented
approaches and by a Disaster Risk Reduction perspective fromlocal government upwards.
 Scope:
The plan intends to provide direction and guidelines to all
stakeholders. It provides strategies and programmes for all threephases of disaster risk management i.e. pre-disaster (Riskreduction& Preparedness), during disaster (response & relief) andpost
disaster (rehabilitation, recovery and reconstruction).

Areas of DRM Plan: General Information About the Area
 Overview of Major Disasters
 Hazard and Risk Information
 Information about NADMA and subordinate DDMAs
 Framework of Action
 SOPsImpediments:•••••••••••••••

Intense Vulnerability
Gender Sensitivity
Lack of awarenessImproper implementation of laws
Extreme weather
Communication/conveyance Problems
Hard terrain
Scattered Valleys
Multi-lingual, multi-ethnical & Quasi Tribal
Population Expansion (1.8/woman/decade)
Unplanned Urbanization
Socio-economic Conditions
Machinery & Equipment
Early Warning System
Insufficient Resources

Recommendations:¾ Government may not be left alone for DRM.
¾ Collective & Well coordinated efforts needed instead of isolated ones.
¾ A multi-dimensional approach incorporating DRM into mainstream
development is needed.
¾ Encouragement of NGO & Volunteer Culture would be helpful.
¾ Information collection and proper/systematic record keeping¾ Establishment of Early Warning System.
¾ Provision of proper Machinery & Equipment.
¾ Need for resources exploration.
¾ DRM awareness & Education¾ Research Facilities.

THANKS