8^th October 2005, was the unfortunate day when the Kashmir Region of Pakistan was hit by an extreme earth quake that resulted in loss of almost 80,000 lives and left almost 4 million people homeless. It was the biggest tragedy in history of Pakistan. The nation commemorates the disaster on the same date every year, by holding rallies and awareness campaigns and also prayers and vigils for the deceased.

 

15 years down the lane, in 2022 Pakistan has been hit by another brutal natural disaster that has caused a great social and economic upheaval. Almost one-third of the country has been inundated by the continuous Monsoon Rains, ruining whole of the populations, their homes, their lands, and their livestock and left them helpless under the open skies.  

 

Being a third world country, down with international debts, struggling with corruption, poverty, drowning currency, injustices, social disparities - Pakistan is least capable of handling the havoc caused by these natural disasters. Yet due to our geo-political location on the map, we are faced with a huge number of small scale and large scale, environmental, technological and biological hazards and threats that keep looming on our heads and can show up anytime.

 

It is high time we take this opportunity of observing National Disaster Awareness Day, by creating awareness of potential disasters and disaster management among masses. It should not just be ceremonious, but actual effort should be put in mobilizing the masses to understand the potential threats and prepare for them before its too late.

 

The United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction department also holds conferences and seminars, giving suggestions to governments about working towards prevention of hazards by transforming systems to make them more resilient

 

“Disasters can be prevented, but only if countries invest time and resources to understand and reduce their risks.”    @HeadUNDRR