Saarc to jointly fight future disasters: National Disaster Management Authority Chairman
ISLAMABAD: Saarc countries have agreed to devise a mechanism to jointly fight future disasters in their respective vulnerable areas, said National Disaster Management Authority Chairman Dr Zafar Iqbal Qadir on Friday.
Briefing the media after the conclusion of a regional consultation titled ‘Engaging Saarc in disaster resilience’, he said a joint network would soon be established to share disaster related information of Saarc countries.
“We need to share data about possible floods, cyclones and seismic activities between the countries that might cause a tragedy. It will help the respective states to timely come up with the contingency plans,” he added.
Meanwhile, briefing the delegates of humanitarian organisations in eighth Policy Coordination Meeting, NDMA Chairman Dr Zafar Iqbal Qadir said a total of five million people have been affected as a result of recent floods in the country. He said 473 persons died and 2902 sustained injuries.
The number of villages affected by the floods has lowered down to 14,159 after rainwater was drained out from several places. Cattle damages were 9,651. And 465,526 houses have been damaged completely and partially, due to the floods.
NDMA, he said is in close collaboration with Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMAs) and District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs), have been able to establish strong supply chain and distribution channels. However, he mentioned that supply of goods to the flood-hit areas is a still a challenge.
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