Natural Disasters in Pakistan

Photo credits: newspakistan.com

People in Pakistan has witnessed worst natural disasters that caused horrible loss in form of human lives lose, property and infrastructure damage. Pakistan faced worst disasters, especially flood in the past few years. Many people are affected by these disasters, property, life and crops were lost in large amount. Increase in population is the major cause of damage because it makes difficult to manage the resources. Recent floods were the reason of poor resource management in Pakistan. Pakistan faced more disasters in its first 10 years. Man powers, in the form of aid, are used for the rehabilitation of those places and people. Those areas, affected by disasters are not rehabilitated yet. These areas lack clean water, electricity, schools, hospitals and many others needs. Although these disasters and natural and from God but even that they can be managed to have as less loss as possible.
Here we can go through few disasters in Pakistan that affected badly:

• Earthquake in Quetta on May 31, 1935 that took 60,000 lives
• Earthquake in Baluchistan on November 27, 1945 killed 60,000 people
• Floods in 1950, killed 2,900 people
• Landfall in Sindh on June 12, 1964, 450 people killed and over 400,000 people became homeless
• Hunza earthquake on December 28, 1974 between 4,700 to 5,200 people died
• Floods in 1977, June, caused 848 deaths
• September 1992 Floods took 1,334 lives
• Due to high wind shear Hurricane had weekend over the sea near Sindh - Gujrat border on November 14, 1993 in which 609 people died
• Floods of 1995 and 1996 in which millions of the people became homeless
• Floods of March 1998 took 1000 lives
• June 1998 cyclone of Arabian Sea, 12 people died in Karachi
• Hurricane that hit Kati Bandar near Karachi on May 20, 1999 killed 6,200 people
• Drought of March 2000 over 2.2 million people affected
• Cyclone storm in 2004 October killed 9 people in Karachi
• 8th October2005, earthquake in northern areas caused death of 100,000 people, 138,000 injured while displacing 3.5 million people
• Arabian Sea cyclone in 2010, June took 14 lives
• Floods in July & August 2010 over the one fifth of total area of Pakistan affected 20 million and killed over 2,000 people with the damage of 43 million dollar
• Drought in Sindh, 2014, about 175,000 families are affected, 32 malnourished children died

Photo credit: tribune.com.pk

Here in Pakistan NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority) established in 2005 that manages all the disastrous situations in Pakistan, but, all the policies and facilities of government are just structure. These are not implemented properly. We will face less loss in future if resources managed properly and policies practiced. In Pakistani print media it was reported that UN food program help Pakistan for the location of areas damaged by natural disasters and providing them relief. This is the 3.3 million dollar project. By keeping in mind the history of natural disasters in Pakistan, it shall helps in supplying relief and provides strength to country’s emergency response.

Statistical report of 2010 about natural disasters shows that about 87,000 people died in the disasters and 58,098,719 people affected by disasters, where economic damage is 18 million Rs.

Recent situation in Pakistan, even after the establishment of NDMA, is same. We are facing floods every year that affect irrigation badly. Lack of management and policies will show the same in coming years. It is high time that the government as well as every citizen of Pakistan plays its own respective role to bring about a positive change.