'Pakistan makes great progress in establishing robust disaster management mechanism'

Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Lieutenant General Muhammad Afzal on Friday said that Pakistan has made a great progress in establishing a robust disaster management mechanism. He was talking to Japanese Ambassador Kuninori Matsuda who met him here at his office to discuss the current flooding situation in Pakistan as well as other matters.
The NDMA chairman said that Japan's resilience against disasters and its disaster management system is a role model for the rest of the world. He also appreciated the support extended by Japan in strengthening Pakistan's resilience against disasters. During the meeting, the Japanese ambassador appreciated Pakistan's progress in the disaster management sector and offered his country's support for future initiatives.
He also visited National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) at the NDMA. The member operations NDMA briefed the visiting envoy about the disaster management spectrum of Pakistan and its operations. Lieutenant General Afzal also informed the visiting envoy about the current monsoon season, saying during the period the floods across the country killed at least 235 people, injured 169 and destroyed 675 houses.
According to the NDMA's latest preliminary damages/losses details issued here, the floods resulted in the destruction of three power houses, six mosques, 224 shops, 18 bridges and 63 roads countrywide. The NDMA's report said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the worst hit by the floods wherein a total of 78 people were killed, 69 got injured, 312 houses and three power houses damaged and 216 shops swept away.
Sindh is second worst hit region by flooding with over 63 deaths, 17 injuries and destruction of 34 houses, followed by Azad Kashmir with 42 killings, 18 injuries and destruction of 132 houses, 43 shops, three mosques and a road track. The NDMA said that in Balochistan, 12 people were killed and 10 got injured by flooding.
He further said that in Gilgit-Baltistan, eight persons were killed, 12 got injured and 170 houses were damaged, adding that two people were killed by monsoon floods in the federal Capital. Among the total deaths, 107 were male, 47 were female and 81 were children while out of 169 injured, 120 were male, 22 were female and 27 were children.