Technical guidelines for Management of flood affected area and community

INTRODUCTION

Floods are almost annual events in Pakistan. Pakistan has been experiencing floods. Mainly because of its

topography, Sind, Kabul and swat are three hazard prone rivers, and due to climatic and ecological condition,

Pakistan constantly and annual received flooding every year. This is not a matter of concern every year. However,

when floods exceed normal flooding level, they take dangerous turns. Many times in the history of Pakistan, floods took severe and sometimes catastrophic turns. In

the past Pakistan experienced severe floods in 1973, 1992, 2005 and 2010. But 2010 flood breaks all past records.

Disasters in Pakistan• Pakistan is confronting series of disasters in recent past, 2005

earth quake, hunza land slide, air blue crash, and 2010 Floods, are major disasters. These disasters have different type and onset but resulted huge damage to life and property .Pakistan is facing different problems like terrorism, political uncertainty which badly affected the government and its institutions capacity.

• Government of Pakistan after 2005 earth quake establish a authority for disaster management but due to lack of technical knowledge and manpower the authority fail to play its role effectively while coping these disasters, there is an urgent need to built the capacity of this authority and also clearly lay down its bylaws and mandate , NDMA think that its role is only to regulatory which is totally wrong perception, the role of any National disaster management authority all over the world is to regulate ,coordinate , develop systems and train technically manpower for disaster management.

Countrywide 2010 floods • .Flash floods triggered by days of heavy rain

peaked on 1-15august 2010 affecting four provinces of Pakistan trapping thousands and hundreds of causalities. The floods hits several districts of the provinces

• National disaster management authority (NDMA), Islamabad confirmed that the flash flood affected four provinces, 76 districts, 1200 villages. Houses and some other infrastructures were affected including bridges, road, drainages systems and agricultural areas.

Disaster management in Pakistan• Disaster management is multidimensional field and required technical

knowledge to get job done ,army can not manage disaster , army can manage war and law and order ,the only role army can play in disaster management is that they can respond to post disaster phase for rescue , relief and recovery on request , but here we misuse army in disaster management which not only kept them away from their original task but also put extra burden on armed forces, in spite from the fact that army play a exceilent and efficient role in all national calamities , on other hand it also indicate weakness in NDMA ,which is responsible to provide technical assistance to other government agencies in disaster management, But we witness that due to lack of technical knowledge and techniques we suffer maximum damages in term of life and property, e.g. in Air Blue crash the plane caught by fire for many hours and rescue workers reached the spot in minimum possible time but they fail to stop the fire and rescue the victims because they don’t have fire fighting knowledge ,this fire can easily be controlled if they put green bushes on fire which is very effective instrument in absence of water, these green bushes are wild and extensively available at crash spot ,but we let the bodies burn to ashes ,secondly I also observed the search operation for black box which was also conducted in un professional manners ,CDA worker and other common people are exploring the area not conducted search which is purely technical think and done through scientific methods.

DISASTER RESPONSE SYSTEM IN PAKISTAN

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• Due to frequent occurrence of disasters induced by natural hazards, the National disaster management authority(NDMA)of the Government of Pakistan, which has been given the responsibility for coordinating national disaster management efforts across all agencies. The newly born authority formed provincial and district authorities to handle future disaster,

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL

• NDMA National

• PDMA Provincial

• DDMA District

IMPACTS OF 2010 FLASH FLOODING

• Many houses and bridges have been destroyed due to flash flooding and also, due to the water accompanied debris, which mostly consists of timber logs, tree branches and uprooted trees of different sizes. The mass of debris has been created by destabilization of slope, the sub soil layer and vegetation over the same which is transported by the floodwaters. Mountainous watershed systems in northern Pakistan collectively send water to rivers leading downstream areas

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2010 FLOOD IN URBAN AREAS NOSHERA

• The city of Noshera and few other urban areas of Punjab and Sind located in the plain of the swat and Sind Rivers badly destroyed by floodwater associated with heavy rain. The urban area is located in the catchments, In Noshera city debris flow and flooding caused damages and losses to shops, commercial centers and house hold items such as furniture, electronic items so on. The city transportation system, water supply, sewerage and drainage systems were also subjected to severe destruction or failure in functioning.

Consequences of poor disaster management

• 2005 earth quake is fast onset disaster, all damages are natural and one can not criticized government or any authority because in fast onset disaster damage to life and property can not be minimized by any mean, 2010 flood is slow onset disaster in which damage to life and property is failure of NDMA and government of Pakistan because in slow onset disaster damages can be minimized if a country have system in place (like early warning system, hazard assessment, risk calculation etc). political differences amongst federal and provincial governments leading the disaster toward complex disaster

Complex Disasters-

• Complex disasters exist where adverse political conditions compound a disaster or emergency situation. Such situations are complicated because the breakdown of the political structure makes assistance or intervention difficult. This sort of emergency is usually associated with the problems of displaced people during times of civil conflict or with people in need caught in areas of conflict.

THE SECOND DISASTER

• The actual disaster results in a lot of damage to the population in terms of loss of life and property. This direct result can be dubbed as the ‘first disaster’. The impact of the first disaster sends another wave of damage triggered by chain of events relating to the first disaster by means of cause-and-effect, resulting in indirect damage to people remote from the original disaster. This can be called the ‘second disaster’. For example, tsunami had caused loss in terms of life, damage to houses, etc. This is the first disaster. This leads to disruption in the trade of fishing industries, which suffers massive financial losses. The losses suffered by these industries results in lower wages and salaries to those involved in the fishing business. These people cannot repay their loans, resulting in losses to money lenders, and so on. Such events can also result in higher incidences of Looting robberies civil war, heart attacks, strokes, suicides and homicides. This is called ‘second disaster’ and can be in greater magnitude than the ‘first disaster’. Proper rehabilitation and care of the victims of first disaster can break the chain of events leading to the second disaster.

Who is Responsible for damages?

• 2010 floods are historical in term of magnitude and spread out, Pakistan is exposed to floods almost every year but the recent floods breaks all records of the past, If we put bird eye view on and affected area we see that amount of damage is maximum in term of property and livelihood, If we calculate damages flood first of all food basket of the country completely destroyed ,loss of livelihood ,loss of infrastructure. These damages can not be recovered or rehabilitated in short period of time by any mean, these damages are irrecoverable and irreversible, e.g. The soil of fertile basin plate of Indus River badly polluted and overlapped by flood salty mud which can not be removed shortly, this type of damage can create drought in country.

Governments of Pakistan is responsible for

Immoveable property and livelihood damages

• As a disaster manager I agree from the fact that in floods damages to moveable property can not be minimized by any mean but we can mitigate the risk of a hazard in pre flood period.

• Past and present Governments of Pakistan is responsible to Irrecoverable Damage to food basket or Indus basin plate of Pakistan ,Because this damage can be minimized if government of Pakistan built Dams which is best instrument of flood control , Sind river is biggest in water flow but its water never ever generate floods because of Terbela dam which capacitated large amount of water and utilized for energy and irrigation purposes in spite from the fact that sind river have large potential of flood creation, Swat and kabal rivers garneted flood because there water is unchecked or free in flow, technically both rivers must have dams for control over its water and flow but due to lack of technical knowledge ,mindless politics and poor planning of government of Pakistan and its concern institutions which not only pull the country in darkness butt also destroyed its only god gifted agriculture resource.

(2)NDMA is responsible for damages to Life and moveable property

• In disaster manger eyes NDMA is responsible for damages to life and immoveable property ,Because flood is slow onset disaster not a fast onset which give enough time to Authorities for preparation and mitigation ,if NDMA have national disaster management strategy in place which includes (countrywide early warning system ,emergency management plan, Hydro meteorological hazards assessment, Structural / non-structural measures, , Environmental impact assessment, Environmental degradation assessment, Forecast ) damages can be minimized ,but due to lack of technical management and preplanning the whole country exposed to floods resulted damages to life and property of people ,on the other hand government and army also faced hard time in rescue and relief due to sudden occurrence. This poor management of flood raises questions in mind of international community that Pakistan suffers huge damages to life and property in slow onset disaster due to mismanagement

Potential Flood Hazard in Pakistan• I think that we have manpower and instrument but due to lack of

technical knowledge we suffer damages in disasters, Flood mitigation is not difficult task it can be managed properly through flood mitigation system, In Pakistan we have three potential Flood Hazard Moon soon rains, Northern glaciers and Dams

• Firstly the country is more commonly exposed and vulnerable to moon soon rains which are predictable and come periodically ,With modern satellite weather forecast we can take affective measures to minimize its damages, because in floods only immovable property and crops are vulnerable and people , livestock and moveable property can be saved ,but here we suffer maximum damages in flood and turn whole country in to disaster, we must have early warning system which can inform vulnerable community about hazard ,secondly we must have Hazard assessment like amount of water in rivers , river delta capacity and the water spread area, forecast these damages can be minimized.

Potential Flood Hazard in Pakistan

• Second potential hazards are Terbela, mangla dams, which due to any sudden event can create Flood disaster, for this type of hazard we must educate those people whose are vulnerable in downstream area about risk and hazard (e.g. Everybody must have boat or tire tubes according to house hold size), this type of risk reduction tools save life of people.

• If government of Pakistan and international community fail to manage or poorly managed this disaster then it will resulted dire consequences for Pakistan and rest of the world .If we calculate the amount of damage, magnitude and spread of this disaster, there is a immediate need to manage this disaster properly, if serious steps will not be taken by Government, UN and donor countries the situation will create complex disaster which later on change into second disaster which not only affect Pakistan but the whole civilized world.

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• Third Northern glaciers• Melting of glaciers in northern Pakistan due to global warming are also potential

hazard, this hazard can generate flood in Pakistan .we can reduce its affect by constructing Dam in northern area

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Factors behind flood

• Environmental degradation• The reduction of the capacity of the environment to meet social

and ecological objectives, and needs.• Potential effects are varied and may contribute to an increase in

vulnerability and the frequency and intensity of natural hazards.• Some examples: land degradation, deforestation, desertification,

wild land fires, loss of biodiversity, land, water and air pollution, climate change, sea level rise and ozone depletion.

• Global warming• Global warming is major factor of floods in Pakistan, Developed

industrial states and wild fires contributing major share in global warming which resulted heavy and long spell rains, melting of snow, raise in sea level, storms and floods, in my view moon soon rains are annually fall but this time the unpredictable increase in rain fall is due to global warming resulted flood in Pakistan

FLOOD PREPAREDNESS PLANNING•

• I. Need for Flood Control, Search and Rescue Measure• a. Annual Requirement for Country• b. Long Term (5 year) Requirement for country•

• II. Immediate and Long-Term Measure for Flood, Storm• Control, Search and Rescue planning in the country• a. Safety for infrastructure• b. Protection of Agriculture production• c. Exploit the advantage of flood management programs• d. Ensure safety for people, particularly, households in high risk areas• e. Measures for storing food, medicine, equipments, and materials• f. Plan to mobilize military forces and transportation to be ready to respond

to natural disaster situations• g. Policies to support people to overcome the impact of natural disaster• h. Invest to enhance the flood, storm forecasting and warning, search and

rescue, dyke protection and• Information dissemination work•

FLOOD PREPAREDNESS PLANNING• III . Roles and Responsibility of Line

Agencies at country,• Province, District, Cities in three

phases of Flood•

• a. Agriculture• b. Transport• c. Education• d. Committee of Population, Family

and Children• e. Construction• f. Health• g. Electricity & Water• h. .Post, Radio and Television• i Industry:• j. Hydrometeorology station• k Police• l. Armed forces•

• IV. Implementation Arrangement of the Flood, Storm

• Control and Search & Rescue Plan at all levels.

• a. Coordination among Line Agencies

• b. Sectoral Plan development Infrastructure Restoration

• c. Search and Rescue• d. Relief and Social Policies• e. Health, Education and

Environment• f. Information and Communication• g. Reporting scheme• i. Dissemination of the Plan•

Community based flood early warning system(CBFEWS)

• The capability of communities to monitor and warn people about impending floods is crucial to protecting lives and property. The high cost of telemeter flood forecasting equipment prompts a lot of communities in developing countries to search for cheap but equally effective mechanisms. One such alternative is a community-based flood early warning system (CBFEWS) Flood Warning System consists of two components: flood forecasting as a technical issue and flood warning and dissemination as a communication

• COMMUNITY RESPONSE• Considerable attention has been given to providing understandable and

actionable warnings to target communities. To this end, warning messages have been streamlined with only three different stages (READY, GET SET, and GO) so that the public can easily remember what each signal means.

• Community involvement• Community planning, coordination and response are necessary for effective flood

disaster mitigation. Public awareness and education is extremely essential for proper response

Family communication Plan for Flood victims

• Family communications.• Money, Insurance and vital records• Utility shut-off and safety• Open all doors and windows of house• Select highest place • Stay in groups (Women, children’s and elders in

center young’s in surroundings)• Unplugged animals • Kept drinking water in plastic Grecians• Tied all house keeping goods with rope

PSYCHO SOCIAL ASPECTS OF FLOOD VICTIMS

• There is a phenomenal increase in the incidence of psychiatric disorders in the Flood affected population. The common problems include

• Acute stress disorder

• Post traumatic stress disorder

• Anxiety disorders

• Depression

• Alcohol and drug abuse

VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS OF FLOOD

• Almost everyone in the population is affected by a disaster. No one is untouched by it. Those who suffer damage are called victims. The victims may die or live. Those who manage to live are called survivors. These survivors can be classified as.

• Primary survivor – One who is exposed to the disaster first-hand and then survives. They are called ‘survivor victims’.

• Secondary survivor – One who grieves the loss of primary victims? Example, a mother who lost her child, or a man who lost his friend.

• Third level survivor – The rescue and relief personnel. These people are also affected due to the disaster as they are at the site of disaster and undergo almost the same mental trauma as the other victims.

• Fourth level survivor – Reporters, Government personnel, traders, etc.• Fifth level survivor – People who read about or see the event in media

reports

FLOOD PREPAREDNESS PLANNING•

• 1. Assessment of probable needs: Based on historical data from previous flood disasters, officials at the provincial and district levels compile a list of likely needs and available resources. Gaps between needs and resources are identified in advance and also ways to mobilize them.

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• 2. Institutional Mechanism for implementation of FPP: The Flood Preparedness Plan outlines the institutional structure of the Provincial, District or Commune level Committees for Disaster Management, its roles and responsibilities before during and after floods. The Plan also establishes the coordination among the line agencies and other stakeholder in implementation of priority activities identified in the plan.

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• 3. Activating early warning and disaster response systems: The FPP defines how to warn the whole community, based on the forecast received from the national and regional agencies and what they should do in advance. The plan ensures ways of involving all stakeholders, according to their roles and responsibilities, and outlines these in the plan.

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FLOOD PREPAREDNESS PLANNING

• 4. Resource mobilization and allocation. Responding to a flood requires resources; therefore the plan specifies what resources are already available at the province, district, commune and village levels. The plan also specifies what resources will be needed and where to find those resources.

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• 5. Communication within and outside the community. • To ensure clear and effective messages in an emergency, the plan specifies how

communication will take place and via what media (radio or indigenous systems, etc.)

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• 6. Sectoral components. A flood preparedness plan outlines standard operating procedures (SOPs) for specific measures such as search & rescue, emergency medical assistance ,provision of water supply and sanitation, food and nutrition, logistics and transport, health, agriculture and environment management, temporary shelter, evacuation procedures ;protection and security

GENERATION OF FLOOD WARNING

• The terms ALERT, ALARM, and CRITICAL are the three water assessment levels, which were determined by hydrographic surveys, i.e. cross-sectioning of rivers and discharge measurement.

• WARNING COMMUNICATION• the village informer conduct information dissemination

to the community. The same information is simultaneously broadcasted by radio stations. The primary means of communication are hand held VHF radios and mobile phones, which serve as back up and support. Having reliable and redundant means of communication is crucial to the success of the system

DATA MODELING AND FORECAST• Both meteorological and hydrological data are the basic in puts to a

flood forecasting model. The available data and information is then fed into different computer models to forecast flows to enable issuance of warnings. Prior to feeding the data into flood forecasting models the data have to be screened for quality.

• The models for flood forecasting can be divided into two categories (i) deterministic models and (ii) stochastic models

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• DISSEMINATION OF FORECAST• An effective dissemination mechanism is needed which is practical

and reliable to reach the end users. The mechanism should be cost effective, technologically sustainable and appropriate to the local expertise. The usual mode of dissemination is through phone, radio, TV .In Muslim country like Pakistan The religious head of villagers called “Imam” or molvi communicate such warnings for reliability and response to people in remote villages.

. Flood Disaster management Field Level planning

• Search rescue• Relief• (food/tent/clothes/hygiene kit) is for primary and secondary survivor only• Damage assessment survey• Reconstruction/Rehabilitation• Housing• (Keep flood safe design houses (cross windows doors designs)• Flood resistance houses (V design houses)• Shifting of vulnerable habitats to safer places• Rehabilitate DWSS, School, Roods, and hospitals• Rehabilitation of agriculture land (water canals, land leveling etc)• Preparedness• Awareness, trainings, Dams, Diversions canals

Flood Risk mitigation • Alert-• The notice issued indicating that specific precautions should be

taken because of the probability or proximity of a dangerous event.

• Emergency management•

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• The organization and management of resources and responsibilities for dealing with all aspects of emergencies, in particularly preparedness, response and rehabilitation.

• Emergency management involves plans, structures and arrangements established to engage the normal endeavors of government, voluntary and private agencies in a comprehensive and coordinated way to respond to the whole spectrum of emergency needs. This is also known as disaster management.

Hydro meteorological hazards• Natural processes or phenomena of atmospheric, hydrological or oceanographic

nature, which may cause the loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation.

• Hydro meteorological hazards include: floods, debris and mud floods; tropical cyclones, storm surges, thunder/hailstorms, rain and wind storms, blizzards and other severe storms; drought, desertification, wild land fires, temperature extremes, sand or dust storms; permafrost and snow or ice avalanches. Hydro meteorological hazards can be single, sequential or combined in their origin and effects.

• HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL MONITORING• The hydrological monitoring system consists of a network of rainfall and water

level monitoring stations, • • Assessment of flood hazard and existing flood control structures;• • Identification and verification of locations for rainfall and water level gauges

using the network density derived from a topographic map of the river basin;• • Acquisition, fabrication, and installation of rainfall, water level gauges, and

flood markers;• • Identification and training of community volunteers as rain and water level

observers; and• • Discharge measurement and cross-sectioning of rivers•

Risk assessment/analysis

• A methodology to determine the nature and extent of risk by analyzing potential hazards and evaluating existing conditions of vulnerability that could pose a potential threat or harm to people, property, livelihoods and the environment on which they depend.

• The process of conducting a risk assessment is based on a review of both the technical features of hazards such as their location, intensity, frequency and probability; and also the analysis of the physical, social, economic and environmental dimensions of vulnerability and exposure, while taking particular account of the coping capabilities pertinent to the risk scenarios.

Structural / non-structural measures

• Structural measures refer to any physical construction to reduce or avoid possible impacts of hazards, which include engineering measures and construction of hazard-resistant and protective structures and infrastructure.(e.g. Dams,)

• Non-structural measures refer to policies, awareness, knowledge development, public commitment, and methods and operating practices, including participatory mechanisms and the provision of information, which can reduce risk and related impacts.

Geographic informationsystems (GIS)

• Analysis that combine relational databases with spatial interpretation and outputs often in form of maps. A more elaborate definition is that of computer programmes for capturing, storing, checking, integrating, analyzing and displaying data about the earth that is spatially referenced.

• Geographical information systems are increasingly being utilized for hazard and vulnerability mapping and analysis, as well as for the application of disaster risk management measures.

Land-use planning

• Branch of physical and socio-economic planning that determines the means and assesses the values or limitations of various options in which land is to be utilized, with the corresponding effects on different segments of the population or interests of a community taken into account in resulting decisions.

• Land-use planning involves studies and mapping, analysis of environmental and hazard data, formulation of alternative land-use decisions and design of a long-range plan for different geographical and administrative scales.

• Land-use planning can help to mitigate disasters and reduce risks by discouraging high-density settlements and construction of key installations in hazard-prone areas, control of population density and expansion, and in the sitting of service routes for transport, power, water, sewage and other critical facilities.

Environmental impact assessment (EIA)

• Studies undertaken in order to assess the effect on a specified environment of the introduction of any new factor, which may upset the current ecological balance.

• EIA is a policy making tool that serves to provide evidence and analysis of environmental impacts of activities from conception to decision-making. It is utilized extensively in national programming and for international development assistance projects. An EIA must include a detailed risk assessment and provide alternatives solutions or options.

• Environmental degradation

• The reduction of the capacity of the environment to meet social and ecological objectives, and needs.

• Potential effects are varied and may contribute to an increase in vulnerability and the frequency and intensity of natural hazards.

• Some examples: land degradation, deforestation, desertification, wild land fires, loss of biodiversity, land, water and air pollution, climate change, sea level rise and ozone depletion.

Forecast

• Definite statement or statistical estimate of the occurrence of a future event (UNESCO, WMO).

• This term is used with different meanings in different disciplines.• Geological hazard• Natural earth processes or phenomena that may cause the loss of

life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation.

• Geological hazard includes internal earth processes or tectonic origin, such as earthquakes, geological fault activity, tsunamis, volcanic activity and emissions as well as external processes such as mass movements: landslides, rockslides, rock falls or avalanches, surfaces collapses, expansive soils and debris or mud flows.

• Geological hazards can be single, sequential or combined in their origin and effects.

Public awareness

• The processes of informing the general population, increasing levels of consciousness about risks and how people can act to reduce their exposure to hazards. This is particularly important for public officials in fulfilling their responsibilities to save lives and property in the event of a disaster.

• Public awareness activities foster changes in behavior leading towards a culture of risk reduction. This involves public information, dissemination, education, radio or television broadcasts, use of printed media, as well as, the establishment of information centre and networks and community and participation actions.

Recommending

• Government of Pakistan must think deeply into matter and analyzed the situation, and declared it complex disaster ,then top leadership of a country ask UNO to call a meeting of all member countries and asked the world that this disaster happens because of global warming and Pakistan single handedly can not mitigate its affect, world have share in global warming so it is their moral responsibility to come forward and help Pakistan in minimizing its affect ,and also informed them that if we fail or poorly manage this disaster it will change into second disaster which not only destabilized Pakistan but the whole world .

Thank you

• Sardar Muhammad Qaddafi

• Disaster management specialist

• SRSP Manshera

• Mob 03438903218