National Disaster Response Plan (NDRP) March 2010 - NDMA

Introduction
1
NATIONAL DISASTER RESPONSE PLAN
1. Pakistan is susceptible to different hazards depending on its geography and climatic
conditions. Catastrophic events, both natural and manmade, bring about heavy loss of human lives
and livelihoods, as well as damage to property and infrastructure. Such episodes can also aggravate
natural processes, such as sudden tectonic movements, leading to earthquakes and tsunamis,
resulting in frequent cyclones, continuous dry conditions leading to prolonged droughts, severe
storms, unexpected heavy rains, and excessive snowfalls, floods, landslides, and avalanches, etc.
The country is also vulnerable to manmade disasters, e.g., armed conflict, bomb attacks, industrial
hazards, urban fires, and nuclear and radiological incidents.
2. Most devastating example of natural disasters in the country is the October 2005 Earthquake
of Northern Pakistan, which cost over seventy three thousand (73,000) human lives, left 3.5 million
people homeless, and caused severe damage to infrastructure. Similarly, recurrent floods and flash
floods have also resulted in many deaths, damaged standing crops, left many more homeless, killed
hundreds of livestock, and damaged infrastructure to the tune of billions of rupees. Flood 2007 was
another natural phenomenon that played havoc with the lives of large area of Balochistan and Sindh.
A lesser scale October 2008 earthquake in Balochistan caused destruction in three northern districts
of the province.
3. The main cause of such heavy losses and damages is lack of preparedness, planning and the
country‟s limited institutional and organizational capacity for disaster management. To cope with such
natural and manmade disasters, it is important to strengthen institutional and organizational capacity,
provide for robust preparedness and response planning, clarify the roles and responsibilities of
different stakeholders, and put in place coordination mechanisms for emergency preparedness, early
warning, prompt response and fast track recovery activities.
Purpose
4. “National Disaster Management Ordinance (NDMO), 2006” stipulates formulation of sound
strategies and practicable plans for prosecution of DM. The National Disaster Response Plan (NDRP)
has been evolved in pursuance of the same.
5. The purpose of the National Disaster Response Plan (NDRP) is to enhance the country‟s
ability to manage all disasters using a comprehensive national approach. To achieve this, the NDRP
incorporates all disaster management activities from preparedness to response. The NDRP presents
a framework for emergency response at different levels of government structures; identifies the roles
and responsibilities of various stakeholders; and lays down coordination mechanism for activities with
the UN, INGOs, civil society, the news media, public and private sector, and local philanthropists to
bring together a full range of national capabilities to manage any disaster.
6. The NDRP classifies different types of hazards, levels of vulnerabilities and its causes, as well
as the structure, functions, and coordination methodology of the NDMA, DMAs (and its sister