No lessons learnt from natural disasters

PESHAWAR, April 25: The people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas have been hit hard by natural and man-made disasters in recent years yet they lack awareness and resources to effectively respond in case of emergencies, reveal interviews with students and aid workers at a recently held exhibition on disaster management and preparedness at the University of Peshawar. Zahoor Ahmed, a teacher, believes that people are sympathetic and help others when a disaster hits an area, but it is the duty of the government to provide necessary equipment, infrastructure and immediate response in times of disaster. "I think the government lacks in these things," he said. Asked whether they knew about safety measures they should take in times of disasters, Wilayat and Akhtar Ali, students of Environmental Sciences Department, took a considerable time for an answer and said: "We just pray we are never hit by a disaster." Participants of the two-day exhibition, which concluded on Thursday last, were unanimous in their views that there was a dire need for creating awareness of disaster management. Pakistan was hit hard in by magnitude 7.8 earthquake in October 2005, killing hundreds of people. The earthquake exposed lack of preparedness for such disasters at the government and private level. The devastating flood last year that hit many parts of Pakistan and displaced thousands of people was another case in point when both people and government agencies were caught off guard. People's lack of awareness and preparedness to respond to such disasters was fully exposed, as in many areas people stayed at their homes despite flood warnings. Sabeen, an aid worker of a relief organisation, said that though the government and non-governmental organisations provided relief items to people in the event of disasters, but nothing worthwhile had been done for disaster preparedness at the community level. Humaira, another visitor at the exhibition, said that when a natural disaster struck no one was prepared for it, but when man-made disasters hit, it was disturbing to see people's helplessness. Huma, an aid worker, said that in recent years people had suffered huge loss of life and property in conflicts. When military operations are launched, people of the area don't leave in time as they lack awareness of the consequences. "This is what we have seen in the recent conflict and IDPs crisis. People are helpless and don't have awareness," she observed. Shah Nawaz Khan, a research associate at the Centre for Disaster Management and Preparedness, said that the centre was established to train and prepare students to properly respond in times of disasters. He said that diploma courses were conducted for physical training of youth and educating them on how to respond in times of calamities. He proposed that a special unit should be set up at each district to evacuate people in emergency situations.