Daily Times

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Monday issued an alert informing about the chances of riverine flood in Pakistan because India is likely to release rainwater from its main rivers after September 1. According to the PMD, Pakistan has received 25 percent above average rain since the onset of the monsoon season. PMD Director-General Dr Ghulam Rasul said that normal to heavy showers are expected in the catchment areas near India from August 31 to September 1. He added that currently, all water reservoirs in India had reached the maximum conservation level, and it is expected that the showers that are expected on Wednesday and Thursday would prompt India to release extra water into rivers, which would likely generate riverine flood in Pakistan. He added that though India before releasing water issues alerts to Pakistan, to be on a safe side it is the responsibility of the PMD to inform the authorities concerned ahead of time.

Firstly, any stance of blaming India for flooding should be done away with. Climate change experts have warned both Pakistan and India that such instances of flooding are expected in the region for the foreseeable future. Therefore, instead of any blame games the focus should be on improving the infrastructure by constructing dams, repairing embankments of canals and rivers, as well as other water regulatory infrastructure.

Every year around the world such natural disasters are witnessed. Catastrophic damages occur even in the most developed countries. But there are proper precautionary mechanisms to aware the population of any imminent threat, and guidelines are issued on how to minimise damages caused by such catastrophes. Although the PMD and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) play a responsible role to alert the authorities of any imminent threat, much more needs to be done to devise awareness campaigns, specifically for the areas most prone to flooding.

According to NDMA, monsoon rains have claimed 138 lives across the country this year. The highest number of deaths was reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where 52 people were killed, followed by FATA with 27 deaths. These statistics give a clear idea of the most affected areas due to flooding. Pakistan has been facing these situations since the past few years on a regular basis, but there have not been many efforts on the part of authorities to curb the damage caused by floods.

Government should get its priorities right, and should focus its efforts to minimise the effects of these disasters. Natural disasters exacerbated by manmade inefficiency and lack of planning not only result in causalities but are also a cause of economic losses worth billions of rupees. Therefore, NDMA along with all concerned departments should devise mechanisms for evacuation of areas expected to be flooded. Furthermore, any more constructions around the riverbed areas should be avoided. There should be clear guidelines for the structure of buildings in flood-prone areas as most of the casualties occur due to the collapse of these buildings. *