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When Disaster Strikes

With Little or no warning, disasters and emergencies can happen. The local government’s ability to respond to these incidents can be quickly overwhelmed.

The flash flooding over the weekend has again exposed the chink in Pakistan’s Disaster Management system, historically the country has seen devastating floods as recent as 2010 and 2011 which wreaked havoc leading to 1,985 deaths, an estimated 800,000 people homeless and over US$ 10.9 bn in post disaster reconstruction and rehabilitation costs.

A briefing paper published by the think tank German Watch, lists Pakistan as among the top ten countries that are the most vulnerable to climate change effects, in addition to natural hazards such as fired; man-made hazards such as fire are a leading cause of loss of life and property with an estimated 16,500 deaths, 164,000 injuries and insurance claims estimated at around Rs.400 Billion.

Whilst the government emergency service and disaster management apparatus has improved leaps and bounds since the catastrophic events of 2005, the approach towards community based disaster risk reduction continues to be reactive at best.

Interventions from humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organisations to strengthen disaster resilience have in many cases duplicated efforts.  These well-meaning efforts are a welcome breath of fresh air considering Pakistan is prone to a wide variety of natural and man made hazards, the general approach has always been to initiate programs through what is referred to as an implementation partner, this approach has sound logic and merit as it offers transparency, accountability and most importantly sustainability.

It can be argued however that this system is self-limiting based on the funds and remit of the program and the reach of the implementation partner.

What happens when the funds dry out? Or the program comes to an end? And then comes the reality that whenever a disaster or emergency occurs, more often than not; it is the ordinary members of that community or the bystanders that are the first on scene.

However as we have all too often witnessed, so many precious lives are lost at road traffic accidents because someone didn’t know basic first aid, or people die due to inadequate fire safety or personal safety education at home or in the workplace.

Therefore now more than ever community based disaster risk reduction and safety education is vital, Rescue 1122 CADRE program is a step in the right direction, however as the Latin phrase goes:  non omnia possumus omnes “We all can’t do everything” it is important for ordinary citizens to think “Disaster Preparedness”.

Over the years, Pakistanis have developed a strong sense of security culture, we wouldn’t walk down a dark alley alone at night in Karachi, or leave our car unlocked with the keys inside in Gulberg; we take these countermeasures to protect our valuable assets, yet why do we neglect our most valuable assets, our lives and the lives of our loved ones?

In his book “Facing the Humanitarian Challenge: Towards a Culture of Prevention” the Nobel Peace Prize winner Kofi Annan stated “More effective prevention strategies would not only save tens of billions of dollars, but save tens of thousands of lives.” And this opinion is backed by a UNDP publication which reported that $1 spent on disaster prevention can save $7 spent on disaster relief.

When a disaster strikes experts state that members of the community may be without help for anywhere up to 72 hours or even longer. Hence, community based response is the first entity on scene that can save lives of those around them and survive a disaster.

Community preparedness doesn’t have to be complex, it can be as simple as a family getting together and making an emergency plan; which will let you know what to do and where to go for help if there’s a warning issued or a hazard observed. You can learn first aid, how to extinguish a fire and create an emergency kit in case you need to evacuate your home.

Communities can develop their own early warning system by sharing tweets or sms messages about traffic jams, and latest breaking news about disasters or emergencies.  Safer communities are those who illustrate good practices for disaster preparedness and it is only by working together to understand the risks that we can help preserve life, and the lives you save could be closer to home.

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