Rains in K-P

The provincial disaster management authority issued a weather alert after the storm had already swept through Peshawar

Death and destruction have once again come back to haunt Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). Images from Peshawar and adjoining districts are terribly frightening — fallen trees, destroyed infrastructure, debris of homes and a line of coffins mark scenes of what is being described colloquially  as a ‘mini cyclone’. The provincial meteorological department has stated that the disaster that befell K-P on April 26 is the third of its kind in the country’s history and the first such natural calamity that has hit the province. At least 40 people have been killed so far in K-P, while deaths were also reported from Fata.



Authorities say the storm was completely unexpected and they are struggling with rescue operations. The provincial disaster management authority, in fact, was so caught unawares that it issued a weather alert on the evening of April 26 after the storm had already swept through Peshawar. This alert, too, did not indicate the extent of the disaster and only stated that thunderstorms and rains were expected in isolated parts of the province with dry and hot weather prevailing in most areas. Despite the frequent nature of the disasters that hit our country, both natural and man-made, our alert systems and rescue efforts leave a lot to be desired. K-P and Fata, in particular, have witnessed a decade of horror; yet emergency facilities in the area are terribly inadequate. The Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar always bears the pressure when disasters hit home yet it sadly remains neglected. Meanwhile, the disconnect between those in power and their constituents is so deep that despite a whole day of rain-led destruction, the provincial authorities have seemed helpless in rising to the occasion. And it was only after severe criticism on social media that the PTI chairman finally issued a comment on Twitter about the disaster in the province that his party rules. The chief minister of K-P, too, has remained largely missing.

Despite having faced huge natural calamities in recent times, ranging from the floods that inundate Sindh and Punjab annually to the earthquake in Awaran, we have much to learn about planning and rescue efforts. Our disaster management efforts need to be urgently streamlined and both pre- and post-disaster measures need to be improved upon if we want to contain the extent of damage that wreaks havoc after every calamity that hits our land.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th,  2015.

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