PESHAWAR:The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is working on winter contingency plan in order to minimize disaster risks, identify hazards, vulnerabilities and risks and resource mapping for minimizing disaster risks and ensuring timely coordinated response.
The NDMA taking these steps with the collaboration of all stakeholders, including
the district administration, the provincial and federal departments and humanitarian partners.
In this connection an important pre winter planning orientation meeting was held here Monday under the chairmanship of PDMA Director General Sharif Hussain.
Officers from district administration, line departments, academia, Islamic Relief Pakistan along with the staff of PDMA participated in this session.
Director General PDMA Sharif Hussain said that we have started the process of winter contingency planning from October by involving all stakeholders and contingency plan will be developed by the mid of November.
Tools for data collection are developed and shared with all stakeholders including information regarding district, sector specific hazards and vulnerability profile, hazard impact, damages, compensation paid, resource mapping, need assessment and coordination.
He added that natural hazards and subsequent disasters caused massive losses to people’s life and livelihoods, which retarded economic growth. “Under coming contingency plan, the Authority would make efforts to minimize the losses likely to be caused by the disasters,” he said. The natural hazards include winter hazards of extreme low temperature, fog, smog, snowfall, rainfall, landslides flashfloods, seismic activity along the mountainous north and west.
The winter contingency plan will categorize the districts vulnerability and risk assessment into very high, high, medium and low categories. Each weather pattern comes with its own sets of contingencies. The peculiar geography, terrain and natural resources make the Province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa heir to a number of climate contingencies during both summers and winters.
Some regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa such as Malakand and Hazara Divisions, by virtue of their high altitudes are exposed to weather extremes in winter spreading around four months from December to March. The low temperature, Fog, smog, snowfall, rainfall, landslides, avalanches and the consequent blockade of roads and pathways resulting in inaccessibility of the areas are some of the common features.
Director Disaster Risk Management PDMA Zuhra Nigar said PDMA has initiated the process of introducing proactive preparedness regime under guidelines established by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for streamlining response at provincial and district levels in coordination with all stakeholders.
The process of contingency planning for major hazards, would enable initiation of requisite mitigation measures and to undertake a coordinated response to minimize the loss of life and property in the events of disasters. It is stakeholders’ inclusive exercise that takes stock of what exists in terms of resources, hazards analysis to determine the likely relief caseloads as a planning assumption.
She further said Pakistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular is vulnerable to various hazards due to adverse effects of climate change. PDMA Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is an active Disaster Management Organization at the provincial level that deals with disaster management, disaster risk reduction, preparedness and planning.
Spokesperson PDMA Taimur Ali said winter hazards occurring through December to March were accentuated by heavy precipitation in the upper mountainous regions of the province. He said, snow, avalanches and landslides either target vulnerable communities or isolate them by disrupting communication networks.