Disaster releif strategy perspective

By Hassan Baig

Nature has its own course of disasters and relief, humans have their own. We all are subjected to disasters followed by relief strategy and its indebtedness. There is no parallel to the recent spell of natural disasters in Pakistan and no match to the public response and unity displayed at this time of trauma and awe. Pakistanis, as if emotionally better equipped this time, contributed in a big way to combat the havoc played with human capital. No one could have imagined the magnitude and scale of this human tragedy. We have seen debris, death and destruction stretching from Islamabad to Balakot to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Of course, the world can never be the same again for those who luckily -- or unluckily -- survived. The loss of life is irretrievable, though property is. Who knows what happened to whom, and why? It is beyond the comprehension and faculty of the human mind.Keeping everything aside, the role of the media was highly appreciable. Media people reached the disaster-stricken areas before the rescue teams and highlighted the gruesome pictures, full of woe and helplessness. Every channel was doing its best, as the faces, eyes, innocence, smiles and hopes were all lost in the rubble. The scattered corpses of the old, young and innocent were splashed by the media. A whole generation was lost. This forged the unity of the nation. Emotionally-charged people did everything except being able to bring back the innocent dead to their parents. But questions are still arising regarding the latecomers — the rescuers! Landslides, hilly terrain, disruption in communication links, shortage of helicopters, lack of preparation and lack of disaster relief strategy are some of the excuses. These excuses cannot be the answers.Public response was immense in this tragic time. Truckloads of clothes, food and eatables were sent to the calamity-hit areas. Relief camps were seen in almost every significant nook and corner of the streets along the roads. Apparently, the undisciplined nation and the people of Pakistan were united in these testing times. The Quaid’s slogan of ‘unity, faith, discipline’ became a reality. In fact, the earthquake shook everyone in one way or another. Just imagine the screams and cries of those underneath their houses, schools, hospitals and office buildings, which were converted into heaps of rubble in a matter of a few seconds. The people advanced relief efforts in far-flung areas even before the government did, but they experienced helplessness when it was realised that rescue teams were needed more than the relief efforts. Such was the enormity of the catastrophe that it baffled the people who had arrived there for relief work, but the teams were firmly committed to lessen the pain of the people in the devastated areas. There are no proper words to appreciate their resolve in providing relief to the people who were left at the mercy of nature.The government also responded well in time, although not up to the expectations of the public. The government machinery could not be mobilised soon after the tremors ran amock in Northern Pakistan. A swift action was required; but the delayed action was attributed to various factors. President Musharraf, in his address to the nation on October 12, said that the efforts for the rescue and relief operations were partly delayed due to severely damaged and blocked roads, owing to landslides. The government, he said, was fully conscious of the extent of damage in the affected areas of AJK and Hazara Division of NWFP. He recalled that in the first twelve hours, the scale of tragedy was not exactly known as information was still coming in. He explained that the roads were broken and the communication infrastructure was devastated. Furthermore, a tragedy of such proportions was larger than the entire capacity of the government. In fact, no country has the capacity to immediately deal with a tragedy of such large magnitude when confronted with such a situation. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the United States of America can be quoted as examples. Here the situation is even worse than the Tsunami as the earthquake was more devastating, and it was more difficult to reach victims in the Himalayas than the Tsunami survivors; according to a UN report. But the good news is that the government has set up a Federal Relief Commission for early relief and rehabilitation of the earthquake victims, and Provincial Relief Commissioners have also been put in place to coordinate and contribute in the gigantic task of rehabilitation.The assistance and the role of the international community in the relief and immediate rescue operations were too great to be forgotten. The killer earthquake, which took a toll of more than 50,000 lives and is the worst ever natural disaster in the history of Pakistan, has attracted the attention of the world community. They have given a lot of donations and assistance in relief and rescue operations. Some countries established field hospitals to provide immediate medical relief to the earthquake victims with their own medical teams. The concerns of the international community in such tragic-ridden times are unforgettable. Those who have contributed significantly in the disaster relief operations are the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, Iran, India, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh and Hungary.The media, public, government and the international community all did well and are still doing a lot for the rehabilitation of the devastated areas and the people of Pakistan. But much more is required to be done as the government and people of Pakistan are apparently not prepared to combat such natural disasters. Highly responsive and swift government action and better future planning will definitely reduce the losses of life and property. There is a serious need of overhauling and reviewing the disaster relief strategy, which we are lacking.First of all, we are in dire need of research work to chalk out a plan to respond swiftly in times of natural disasters. Pakistan is a country where a full-fledged crisis management centre is urgently required to counter storms, floods, droughts and earthquakes. Second, a robust infrastructure is absolutely necessary in the form of road network, transportation and aviation. Third, stocks and supplies in all parts of the country are necessitated for an efficient management in critical times. Fourth, a strong telecommunication network is a must to face any kind of catastrophe in the future. Lastly, a strong department for emergency service is required sooner than later as a part of crisis management and disaster relief strategy.

The writer is a freelance columnist

The Post