PESHAWAR
Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) devised winter contingency plan 2022-23 to cope with various natural hazards which the province faces during the winter season.
The plan has been devised under the guidance of Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the view of natural hazards mentioned in the plan include winter hazards of extreme low temperature, fog/smog, snowfall, rainfall, landslides flash floods and seismic activity along the mountainous north and west.
Director General PDMA Sharif Hussain said that the process of Winter Contingency Plan was started in mid-October 2022 by involving all stakeholders of the Federal Government, Provincial line Departments, District Administration and development partners.
Digital tools for data collection were developed and shared with all stakeholders including information regarding district/sector specific hazards and vulnerability profile, hazard impact, damages, compensation paid, resource mapping, need assessment and coordination.
The Winter Contingency Plan 2022-23 provides a detailed overview of the district profile of winter hazards for the entire province, he added and said that it covered details about the Composite Risk Score of every district based on the different types of hazards the district is prone to.
It also explains the corresponding risks that are associated with it along with the approximate vulnerable population in the event of any untoward situation.
Keeping the risks that these hazards might pose, all the districts map out such vulnerable sites and prepare a Winter Contingency Plan of their respective districts wherein all the available resources are mapped and the corresponding response is chalked out, identifying clearly defined roles and responsibilities of various departments in the event of any unfavorable scenario.
The different winter hazards that this province is prone to, include heavy snowfall, extremely low temperatures and cold wave, avalanches, landsliding, heavy rainfall, fog and smog.
Every hazard has its own challenges. For instance, the heavy snowfall in the upper regions of Malakand and Hazara divisions disrupt daily lives in different ways ranging from road closures, collapse of buildings / houses and the subsequent shortage of supplies /commodities.
Similarly, low temperatures and cold waves result in the increase of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) diseases.
In this current Winter Contingency Plan very specific challenges, hazards and risks of each district based on composite risk index have been mapped.
This year, the flood affected population has been counted as one of the indicators for vulnerability assessment of each district.
Based on the historical data of events and damage to the flood affected population and the scientific interpolation of weather parameters, The district has been categorized as very high, high and medium, low risk districts.
The plan is stakeholders’ inclusive exercise that takes stock of what exists in terms of plans and resources, hazard’s analysis to determine the likely relief caseload as a planning assumption.
The resources and estimated caseload with clear roles and responsibilities of different departments for dealing untoward emergency situations in the province has also been included.
The process, contingency planning for major hazards, shall enable initiation of requisite mitigation measures and to undertake a coordinated response to minimize the loss of life and property in the events of disasters.
