Residents of 285 decrepit buildings told to evacuate before monsoon season

RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi city administration has ordered residents of some 285 identified dilapidated buildings to evacuate before the forthcoming monsoon season.

In this regard, the district administration has issued red notices. The notices were issued on the directions of Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner Ali Randhawa.

Old and dilapidated buildings, located in various old neighbourhoods of the city, are mostly inhabited by middle and lower-middle class families.

Officials believe that the poor structural integrity of these buildings poses a serious threat to the lives of residents, especially during the ongoing monsoon season.

According to the details, most of the dilapidated buildings in the city are located within a few old neighbourhoods including Raja Bazaar, Kaalan Bazaar, Moti Bazaar, Babra Bazaar, Bagh Sardaran, Dingi Koi, Ratta Amral, Purana Qila, Murree Road and in the cantonment areas.

These buildings were constructed more than a century ago and have outlived their expectancy. Residents of these buildings are under constant threat of being trapped if these buildings collapse due to heavy rains, windstorm or earthquake.

NDMA conference

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Tuesday held a National Monsoon Preparedness Conference-2019 in Islamabad to review preparations for the impending monsoon season and expected flooding.

The National Monsoon Contingency Response Guidelines 2019 were also shared with all stakeholders.

NDMA Chairman Lt General M. Afzal hoped that the conference will set the stage to consolidate the gains of complete preparedness process.

“This will enable the Disaster Management Authorities of the country to cope with impending hazards in a more professional manner,” he stated.

He highlighted that besides the preparedness and response measures, climate change phenomenon should also to be taken into consideration as it has already started casting its adverse impacts upon the region in the form of extreme weather events.

The Pakistan Met Department (PMD) director general highlighted the salient features of weather outlook for the upcoming monsoon season.

The forecast stated that rainfall over the country from July-September this year is likely to remain close to the national average. However, normal to above normal rainfall is expected in the upper half of the country.

Similarly, extreme weather events are also expected during this period which may lead to flooding in rivers and its adjoining tributaries. Slight to moderate, below normal rainfall is expected in the southern provinces of Sindha and Balochistan.

Representatives of all provincial and regional disaster management authorities presented the nature of vulnerabilities faced in their respective areas.

They also explained the state of preparedness and prevention measures put in place to manage the vulnerabilities.

They further shared details of available rescue equipment and rehabilitation and relief stocks in their warehouses for the emergencies.

The FFC presented policy for management of dams and province -wise vulnerable points which require special attention.

The National Highway Authority (NHA) shared progress on preparatory efforts undertaken for various national highways with a special focus on the Karakorum Highway (KKH), the Gilgit-Skardu Road, Dir-Chitral Road, Rawalpindi-Murree-Muzaffarabad Road and the Manshera-Naran Road.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs shared the resource capacities of various UN agencies across Pakistan and their coordination mechanism.

NDMA Operations Member Brigadier Mukhtar Ahmed shared a detailed contingency plan based on PMD’s weather forecast with the participants and reviewed the state of preparedness.

He critically evaluated and identified the limitations and inadequacies and urged for better response during this monsoon by all stakeholders and informed them that NDMA has enhanced its storage capacity and adequate relief stocks were available at warehouses throughout the country.

(WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT IN ISLAMABAD) 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 26^th, 2019.