‘Disaster management system in Capital to be extended to other cities’

[Naveed Yaseen]

* NDMA chairman says foreign trainers to enhance CDA rescue team’s capacity

By Fazal Sher

ISLAMABAD: The emergency and disaster management system established by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in federal capital would also be set up in other cities in order to cope with natural calamites, said Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira on Monday.

He said this while addressing the concluding ceremony of a mock exercise related to National Urban Search and Rescue at National Disaster Management Academy site in sector H-11. Some 88 employees of CDA as well as 16 trained sniffer dogs, provided by Pakistan Army, took part in the exercise.

He said the establishment of Emergency and Disaster Management Directorate (EDMD) was a success of CDA and such arrangements should be made in other cities including Kashmir and Gilgat-Baltistan to tackle natural calamities.

Farooq Ahmad Khan, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman, speaking on the occasion said the CDA rescue team’s capacity would be further enhanced with the provision of training through foreign trainers. “Such mock exercises related to disaster management would play a vital role in tackling the natural calamites,” he said, adding, NDMA would soon prepare a rescue team according to the international standards.

CDA Chairman Imtiaz Inayat Elahi said the civic body had equipped EDMD with modern equipments to protect the human lives during natural climates. Currently the fire department of CDA has two 68-meter snorkels, two 29-meter snorkels, 45 fire tenders and five emergency response vehicles, he said.

He said the authority had arranged foreign trainer for training of its staff to improve the fire department of CDA.

The CDA in collaboration with NDMA had planned joint exercises from November 19, to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams of CDA and Karachi City District Government through live operations.

The essence of the exercise is on-site technical and canine search by the two teams, including establishment of the base of operations, formation of communication and command posts, logistics cell and field hospitals, stalls with state of the art USAR equipments, followed by a group of local and international observers at the exercise area for the three consecutive days.

The teams were fully equipped with all the required machinery, kits and tools largely required during the technical search supported by classy and highly sophisticated search and sensing cameras, listening devices, dogs, shoring and cutting apparatus and various other tools.

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