The effects of climate change, which is shockingly still considered by many to be a myth, have been manifesting themselves globally in a recurring manner and taking a massive toll on human life, property, infrastructure, livestock and the natural habitats of wildlife.

Pakistan has been hit hard by torrential rains, cloud bursts, flash floods, landslides, tropical cyclones, heat waves and droughts, etc. in recent years. The mountainous regions of Fata, Swat, Dir, Chitral and several parts of Gilgit-Baltistan have especially been at the receiving end in the last five years.

The gushing hill torrent of the July 2015 floods have wreaked havoc in Chitral by killing many people and affecting 300,000 families, rendering them homeless, and without food and other necessary items of daily life.

While the role of the Pakistan Army, considering their well-equipped infrastructure and resources, was highly commendable in rescuing the stranded people and distribution of dry ration, the provincial government departments were neither fully prepared nor properly equipped.

The issues of food security, pollution of surface and ground water resources, impending epidemics, reconstruction of roads, bridges and other buildings loom large in the wake of floods and landslides, requiring immediate attention and allocation of resources to minimise the negative impact.

The frequent occurrences of all such disasters make it abundantly clear that unless we take such recurring catastrophes more seriously through advance planning and mitigation strategies, the miseries of local populations would continue unabated with each passing year.

It is imperative to include ‘disaster management’ as an emergent activity in our annual development plans at the federal, provincial and even district level to enhance the resilience and preparedness of our target societies to enable them to cope with such disasters without much loss.

This includes the capacity building of human resources and related organisations, improving warning systems and use of modern technology required for the rescue and relief activities.

In view of the limited capacity of our government, the civil society organisations have a greater role to play in support of the related departments and agencies in managing post disaster rehabilitation.

The writer is a professor at Environmental Sciences Department at University of Peshawar. srsyed55@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, August 23rd, 2015

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