Chairman PRCS Abrar ul Haq stressed on timely sharing of early Warning/ Information, community awareness; asked all concerned departments to factor in needs of vulnerable groups i.e., children, women, disabled and aged people in planning and execution of relief operations.

ÌSLAMABAD: Pakistan Red Crescent Society has initiated the process to hammer out a monsoon contingency plan-2022 in order to cope with the looming floods, and minimize the losses by focusing on preparedness.  

PRCS has initiated consultative process with stakeholders including NDMA, PDMAs, Pakistan Meteorological Department, National Institute of Health and all its Provincial and District branches to collect necessary information about vulnerable areas, existing capacities, stocks detail and the needs.  All this information will be analyzed by a technical team at PRCS National Headquarters and converted into a Monsoon Contingency Plan by the mid of June 2022, following the Monsoon Contingency Planning guidelines of IFRC.  

A meeting on disaster preparedness and relief operations was held at PRCS National headquarters here today presided by Chairman PRCS Abrar ul Haq to discuss climate change, heat wave and to review the preparations for upcoming monsoon season at national and provincial levels. 

To gear up the Monsoon preparedness, PRCS Chairman Abrar ul Haq has directed all the relevant departments including Disaster Management, Health & Care, First Aid, Youth & Volunteer, Logistics and Fleet, to utilize all possible resources in the appropriate manner to prevent colossal damage by putting in place pre-monsoon preparations framework and contingency planning at provincial and district levels. 

Underscoring the need for better preparedness and coordination to avoid loss of life and property in case of any disaster, Chairman PRCS stressed on timely sharing of early Warning/ Information and community awareness. He asked all concerned departments to factor in needs of vulnerable groups i.e., children, women, disabled and aged people in planning and execution of relief operations. 

As part of the monsoon-preparedness, mock exercises being carried out in different parts of the country. The purpose of these exercises is to evacuate people trapped in the flood, relocate them, check equipment used in flood operations and improve communication between agencies. A mock exercise was carried out last week by Rescue 1122 Gujranwala in collaboration with Red Crescent and other stakeholders at Master City on Upper Chenab Canal to combat flood-like disaster. On this occasion, relief camps were set up by Red Crescent, Rescue 1122, Revenue, Health, Education, Civil Defense, Livestock, Agriculture and other departments. 

Pakistan experiences Monsoon induced flooding and related disasters almost every year, between June to September. An extensive consultation with relevant stakeholders is made every year by the PRCS to lead the contingency planning and its implementation.