Managing the disaster managers

KARACHI: This is with reference to Awab Alvi’s article 'Managing the disaster managers' (August 11). No disaster management plans will work if the local people are not prepared. The most recent example can be taken from Bangladesh, which is hit by cyclones quite often. That country has a good warning system and it works at the local community level – and hence allows locals to move to relief centres reasonably quickly. The location of the relief centres is known to the people and they have adequate facilities in terms of food and shelter.

In Sindh as recently as a few months back, Cyclone Phet hit its coastal areas. Much of the population there is poor and what is worse is that no help of any kind was given to those affected by the cyclone. The administration put some families in dilapidated run-down dwellings and hardly any food or clean drinking water was provided to them. Post-cyclone no money or help was given as promised by the Sindh government.

The rulers are not ‘mad’ as described by Mr Alvi. The issue is of awareness as to what and how disasters are managed. It is not even a matter of money but rather how it is used. Communities need to be told of the consequences of not being prepared for disasters and the only way to do that is to educate them of these repercussions.

Our government should try and learn from how they do things in Bangladesh. The magnitude of the floods and our poor response also indicates that the system of local government should be revived soon.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 12^th, 2010.