ISLAMABAD, Feb 21: Terming Pakistan prone to a variety of natural disasters, head of UN agency for human settlements on Tuesday called for immediate steps to minimise the extent of losses in future.

Talking to reporters, country programme manager of UN-Habitat Siamak Moghaddam observed that permanent institutional framework must be put in place for swift response to disasters, trained workforce should be raised and building codes should strictly be implemented.

“If unsafe structures have been built in past, it does not mean you should continue with the practice. It must be ensured that all new buildings are constructed on modern lines to make them resilient to natural calamities”, he noted.

He said Pakistan was exposed to various natural disasters including earthquakes, flash floods, land sliding, tsunami and drought and said the climatic change phenomenon had further aggravated the challenge. He said the 2010 flood in Sindh was the result of the effects climate change.

He said a new spell of monsoon was five months ahead and timely investment in preparedness could save precious lives and infrastructure.

He said UN-Habitat in collaboration with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) would organise a two-day conference on ‘Learning from Disasters.’ The conference would discuss issues relating to different catastrophes posing threat to Pakistan, he said and added the experts would share the lessons learnt from disasters in the past, evaluate strengths and weaknesses and discuss the way forward in the light of the experiences.