Country likely to receive 5-15 percent more rains this year

National Disaster Management Authority and Pakistan has said that the country is likely to receive 5-15 percent more rains during upcoming monsoon that may affect 2.9 million people across the country, especially in Sindh province.
NDMA Chairman, Dr Zafar Iqbal Qadri, while addressing a press conference here on Friday said that the country might face another flood for the third consecutive year as a result of the unusual rains expected in coming monsoon. "Now it has become the need of hour to make essential arrangements to avoid losses during the rains," he added.
Rana Muhammad Farooq Saeed Khan, Federal Minister for Climate Change and Arif Mehmood, Director General MET Office were also present on the occasion.
Qadir said, "There are some flood affected areas of Sindh where the flood water could not be drained out. That is why NDMA wants the bunds to be strengthened and is trying its level best to make essential arrangements to avoid any risk that erodes any bund, causing severe damage as was seen in previous flood."
"We have already written a letter to the Finance Minister, Abdul Hafeez Sheikh to allocate Rs 5 billion for the relief activities like shelter, water and sanitation etc in the flood-hit areas of Sindh and Balochistan," the NDMA Chairman added.
He said that those areas of Sindh that were most affected during the 2011 floods, could be hit once again.
"Till the end of the current fiscal year, NDMA will finalise the Disaster Policy, while notification regarding the establishment of Disaster Management Authority of Islamabad has been issued," he informed.
He claimed that the government's request for $ 440 million from foreign donors for the projects to be started in the flood-ravaged areas of Sindh and Balochistan remained ineffective as the country received just 10 percent of the total amount requested.
Rana Muhammad Farooq said that the government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has allocated Rs 3 billion in budget 2012-13 for the flood affectees. "We have written letters to the governments of Sindh and Punjab to allocate Rs 5 billion each in their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year."