Pakistan

United Nations Development Programme

Pakistan

Historically, disaster management in Pakistan revolved around floods, focusing on rescue and relief. After each disaster, the government incurs considerable expenditure towards rescue, relief and rehabilitation in addition to the loss of development funding which is diverted to meet critical needs. Based on this, UNDP has been promoting two major changes since 2003 – first the paradigm shift from a relief to a risk management approach to disaster management and secondly, the creation of an institution within the Government of Pakistan to establish a disaster risk management system at the federal, provincial and district levels. To achieve this, UNDP works in close collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority which leads Pakistan’s efforts to build its disaster risk management capacity.

Some of the major achievements in 2008 include assisting the National Disaster Management Authority in developing a training and curriculum for a course on effective disaster risk management. The training developed local institutional arrangements and capacities to reduce the risks of drought, and earthquakes in three high risk cities and two districts in Pakistan. In areas prone to flooding such as Badin, Thatta and Sialkot, UNDP helped develop a number of mitigation techniques including construction of emergency, shelters, first aid training and the plantation of the mangrove forests, a natural barrier against floods. UNDP also remained committed to helping rehabilitate life in the areas affected by the October 2005 earthquake. UNDP’S Earthquake Recovery Programme (ERP) was actively involved in combating the ongoing issue of landslides NWFP and Pakistan Administered Kashmir (PAK) through implementing innovative and cost-effective techniques of slope stabilization in local communities.

Projects

 

Early Recovery for the Earthquake Affected Area

Technical Assistance for Management of Earthquake Early Recovery (TAMEER)

Environmental Recovery Programme for Earthquake-affected Areas

Strengthening Capacity for Disaster Response

National Capacity Building for Disaster Risk Management

Regional Climate Risk Reduction Project in the Himalayas

Refugee Affected Areas Rehabilitation

Refugee Affected Areas Programme

Earthquake Vulnerability Reduction and Preparedness Programme (EVR) in Mansehra and Muzaffarabad Municipalities

Sustainable Development through Peace building, Governance and Economic Recovery in NWFP

 

Crisis Prevention & Recovery

Earthquakes
1935 Quetta
1945 Makran coast
1976 Northern Areas
2005 North West Frontier Province (NWFP) & Pakistan Administered Kashmir (PAK)
October 2005 Earthquake Statistics

Official Casualties

73,338

No of food Insecure people

2.3 million

Seriously Injured

69,412

Health Facilities
Destroyed or
damaged:

80%

Area Affected

30,000 sq. km.

Children Disabled

10,000

Pop. Affected:

3.5 million people
(500,000 families)

Pop. Est. Remaining
in Remote Areas in Winter

350,000 to 380,000

Pop. Lost Homes

3.3 million people
(over 600,000
dwellings)

Pop. Est. to be in
Camps through
Winter

297,000

Droughts Floods
Land classified as arid 60 %
Annual rainfall Less than 200 mm
Material loss USD 247 million(1926-2006)
Fatalities 14,082
Material Loss (1926-2006) USD 2.5 billion, (USD 6 billion by some estimates)
Landslides
Areas Affected NWFP & PAK
% Forest Cover shrinking 3.1% (7000-9000 ha taken away annually)
Tsunamis
November 1945 Makran Coast
Magnitude of earthquake preceding Tsunami 8.3 on Richter scale
Fatalities 4000
Cyclones/ Windstorms
Number of recorded cyclones (1971-2001) 14
Fatalities 10,609
Material Loss (1926-2006) USD 4 million
Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF)
Number of glacial lakes in Indus Basin 2420
Potentially Dangerous glacial lakes 52

 

* Data source: UN Thematic Working Group on Disaster Risk Management, & National Disaster Risk Management for Pakistan & ERRA-UN Early Recovery Plan (May2006)