National Disaster Response Plan (NDRP) March 2010 - NDMA

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PART- II
DISASTER RISKS IN PAKISTAN
1. General. Pakistan is exposed to different types of hazards. Northern Pakistan and AJ&K
are vulnerable to earthquakes, avalanches, GLOFs, landslides, floods, and drought, etc. The arid,
semi-arid and plain areas are exposed to floods, flash floods, drought, pest attacks, and river erosion,
etc. The coastal areas of Pakistan are exposed to cyclones, storm surges, and hydrological drought,
while some parts of the coastal area in Sindh receive river floods as well. Most of the country‟s big
cities are vulnerable to floods due to heavy rains. Fires and earthquakes are looming threats. These
hazards pose serious dangers, judged by the fact that 6,073 people were killed and 8,989,631
affected in the period between 1993 and 2002 (World Disaster Report 2003, IFRC Geneva).This
figure was outnumbered when a 7.6 Richter scale earthquake struck in 2005, killing more than 73,000
people and seriously affecting over 3.5 million in northern Pakistan. In addition, manmade disasters
traumatize society, economy, and environment. These include industrial accidents, urban fires, oil
spills, nuclear and radiological mishaps and civil and communal conflicts.
2. In the context of Pakistan, floods, cyclones, drought and transport accidents and incidents of
terrorism are priority hazards in terms of frequency and their impact upon human lives, livelihoods,
and infrastructure. Climate change leads to an increase in the frequency and intensity of hydro-
meteorological hazards while earthquakes have a comparatively longer cycle, yet they have a huge
impact on human lives, infrastructure, housing, livelihoods, etc. Therefore, earthquakes are
considered one of the most lethal hazards.
3. Vulnerability describes the economic, social and environmental/physical conditions that make
a community susceptible to a hazard event resulting in potential disasters. Generally, vulnerability can
be related to factors such as poverty, gender, weak governance, under developed institutions, poor
access to services, the absence/erosion of risk transfer mechanisms and social safety nets,
environmental degradation, rapid urbanization, illiteracy and low levels of education. Vulnerability in
Pakistan (as in other countries) is a complex and contextual phenomenon that has to be looked at
specifically, i.e., in relation to concrete hazards and geographical/climatic conditions, for example,
specific to mountains, plain areas, and coastal belts 4 . It has been covered subsequently at length.
4. Hazards
a. Earthquakes. Pakistan lies on a seismic belt and is therefore prone to earthquakes
4 UN DRM Framework
of small magnitude and larger earthquakes occasionally (Fig-2). The mountain ranges
of the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, Suleman, Northern Areas, Chitral District in NWFP,
AJK, and in Balochistan, Zhob, Quetta, Khuzdar, Dalbadin, and Makran Coast,
including Gwadar and Pasni, are located in high-risk areas. In addition, the cities of
Karachi, Islamabad and Peshawar are located on the edge of high-risk areas. Four