Provinces asked to get ready for monsoon

NDMA calls for formulating strategy against urban flooding

ISLAMABAD: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Thursday asked provinces to make all the precautionary measures ready ahead of the monsoon season, as above-average rainfall is expected across the country this year.

Earlier this month, the Pakistan Meteorological Department had predicted that the country would receive 10 per cent extra rainfall than usual during the monsoon season.



“Monsoon rainfalls may trigger urban flooding in respective metropolitan cities that merits cleanliness of waterways of problematic nullah/ tributaries and cleanliness of the drainage system,” according to the letters issued to the provinces. The authority also called for placement of available resources and proactive coordination and response at all levels to avoid the worst situation.

The Met Office had said that monsoon rainfall continues from July to September. It added that Sindh and Kashmir are likely to receive around 20% more rainfall than usual during the season.

The NDMA has requested to formulate a strategy for comprehensive response against urban flooding in metropolitan cities.

In a statement, a NDMA spokesman said the previous year’s rain in megacities of Sindh and Punjab resulted in urban flooding. The abortive water drainage system in cities caused urban flooding, the spokesman recalled and stressed the need for improving such system.

Sequential to the urban flooding during the monsoon season 2019, many shortfalls were observed while handling urban flooding situation in areas of Sindh and Punjab particularly in Karachi, Hyderabad, Thatta, Lahore and Rawalpindi.

Moreover, the federal government has proposed as many as Rs5 billion for six ongoing projects, including ‘10 billion Tree Tsunami’ project, of the Climate Change Ministry in the budget of the financial year 2020-21.



As per the documents available with Express News, around Rs4.90 billion for the first stage of the ‘10 billion Tree Tsunami’ project and over Rs20 million for sustainable land management programme has been proposed under the federal Public Sector Development Programme in the coming fiscal year.

Furthermore, more than Rs20 million for the establishment of Climate Change Reporting Unit, over Rs30 million for setting up Climate Resilient Urban Human Settlement Unit, over Rs5 million for Geometric Centre for Climate Change and more than Rs10 million for the establishment of Pakistan Wash Strategic Planning and Coordination Cell has also been proposed by the government.