LAHORE: The Punjab Emergency Service (Rescue 1122) commemorated the National Disaster Awareness Day on Thursday in Punjab in remembrance of those killed in the catastrophic earthquake disaster on Oct 8, 2005, in Azad Kashmir and north-west areas of Pakistan.

Punjab Emergency Service Director General retired Brig Dr Arshad Zia with senior officers participated in an awareness walk by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, Rescue 1122, City District Government of Lahore and other stakeholders from Nasser Bagh to Town Hall.

Dr Zia said Rescue 1122 was establishing special urban search and rescue teams in divisions of the province. He expressed his grief over the thousands of casualties in the earthquake of 2005, saying that such incidents also should be taken as an opportunity for capacity building of institutions to cope with emergencies.

He said Rescue 1122 had established an integrated emergency services infrastructure essential for saving lives and provided the people with the right to timely disaster response and care without discrimination. Now, Rescue 1122 was working to change the minds of the public to establish socially responsible, healthy, safer and more resilient communities. In this regard, Rescue 1122 was establishing Community Emergency Response teams at the union council level in all districts. After enrollment, these volunteers would be trained for Community Action for Disaster Response and Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction.

He added that recently Rescue 1122 had managed floods in Punjab as boats, divers, flood search and rescue teams evacuated some 97,613 flood-hit people trapped on rooftops of mud and cemented houses, trees, dykes and other areas.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2015

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