Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) retired Lieutenant General Nadeem Ahmed in an exclusive interview to a Business Recorder panel comprising Islamabad Resident Editor Anjum Ibrahim, Staff Reporters Waseem Iqbal, Aisha Sadaf and Qamar-uz-Zaman in the federal capital revealed that the government, federal and provincial, had to-date been exclusively engaged in phase one response which is essentially rescue operation.
He further clarified that the army, the air force and the navy have been in the forefront of rescue efforts and they are part of the federal government. He stressed that provincial administration must evolve risk reduction strategy to minimise the disaster effects in future. The following are excerpts from the interview:
BR: How do you rate the recent floods in the country?
NA: River Kabul, River Swat and River Indus have all witnessed a flow of flood waters unprecedented in our history. In 1929, the year people are quoting as the year we witnessed the heaviest floods in Swat is not accurate. In 1929, the flow in Swat River was 170,000 cusecs while at present it is 250,000 cusecs.
BR: Has government response been adequate?
NA: So far all rescue and relief operations are being carried out by the federal government agencies including armed forces. And let me be honest the army, the air force and the navy have been in the forefront of rescue operations. But they are part of the federal government. They were mobilised on the directives of the Prime Minister and the reason was that they are well equipped to deal with such kind of natural calamity.
BR: What is the ratio of distribution of resources to different flood affected areas?
NA: Resources are distributed on the basis of the damage incurred. Few example, Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa is at present is receiving 50 percent of all resources. This ratio will of course change as the situation evolves.
BR: There has been little evidence of private volunteers this time in contrast to what was seen in the aftermath of the October 2005 earthquake. Why?
NA: After the earthquake struck we successfully restored the communication system which allowed greater mobility to private volunteers. Recent floods have washed away roads and bridges which have made these areas inaccessible to private volunteers.
BR: What are your views about the controversy over the Prime Minister's recent visit to a Mianwali camp?
NA: The camp was a first aid camp, and no patient stays overnight there. The perception of a fake camp was a misunderstanding that emerged due to normal Prime Minister's security protocol which disallows anyone to leave until the Prime Minister departs. Patients who were not allowed to leave till the PM's departure are the ones who complained.
BR: What is NMDA's mandate?
NA: NDMA is not an executing or implementing body. The organisation's mandate is limited to policy making and facilitation. In case of a natural calamity, it facilitates foreign rescue and relief workers and co-ordinates with different government departments at a local level to provide a combined and well co-ordinated effort. Co-ordination is essential to providing an equitable distribution of resources to calamity hit areas. Resource mobilisation according to the size of damage is another important task of NDMA in the event of a calamity. A provincial government would request assistance from the federal government if it requires extra resources. The present scale of disaster is so huge which is why provinces have requested assistance from the federal government.
BR: What is the way forward to deal with natural calamities?
NA: We have been engaged in firefighting. I propose that each province begins to spend one percent of development fund on risk reduction management. To combat future disaster, we have suggested certain precautions to the Planning Commission; for example, any development project, a road or schools or an office, must ensure it is not located in a high risk area. This will minimise the scale of disaster in the long term. But sometimes people in high risk areas refuse to move. An example is Ghulmit village in Gilgit-Baltistan which is at high risk but the villagers have refused to evacuate the area.
BR: Is the worst over?
NA: A front is forming in the Bay of Bengal. If it develops then I would imagine India would open the barrages which would cause us some concern with respect to Sutlej and Ravi. However, by that time the current flood waters would have passed and the system would be able to bear the flux of water.
In addition, the situation could become alarming if Attabad Lake, carrying 3.3 million cusec water bursts as the water would come to Tarbela Dam which is almost up to its capacity of 1550 cusec feet. It could compel the release of water from Tarbela resulting in more devastation in the area.
BR: How many people lost their lives and damage to property?
NA: According to our estimates 942 people lost their lives in this disaster. The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been most effected area from this flood where 797 people died. Emergency has been declared in province. Score of people have been displaced. More than 1078 people are in serious conditions. We have hired the services of World Bank and Asian Development Bank for damage assessment.
BR: What is the response of international community?
NA: The response of international community is commendable. They have provided cash and relief goods for the victims of flood. The inflow of foreign assistance is rolling in. The pledges from South Korea, Japan, the US, Australia, the UK, China, the EU, Italy, the UN, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Qatar and Turkey are maturing.