Pakistan, China agree to work together for disaster preparedness

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China have agreed to jointly increase the capacity of disaster preparedness and response to climate change.

A team of experts from China Meteorological Admi­n­is­tration (CMA) has conducted the post-disaster assessment work in Pakistan and decided to further reinforce cooperation with the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) for technical exchanges, according to a press release.

The 11-member team from the CMA carried out in-depth consultations to assist Pakistan in flood control.

CMA’s meteorological disaster risk expert, Gao Ge has said the CMA has been monitoring the occurrence of monsoon floods in Pakistan since June and collaborating with the PMD for flood monitoring and analysis and weather forecast.

The team travelled to Sindh, the most affected province due to floods, and collected information about the floods and shared flood control and disaster preparedness experience.

Meanwhile, Asian Deve­lop­ment Bank (ADB) has initiated the process to rehabilitate roads, irrigation systems and communication infrastructure in flood-hit areas.

The ADB will rehabilitate a section of national highway (N5) between Sukkur and Hyderabad and bridges on national highways across Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The ‘Emergency Flood Assistance Project’ (EFAP) has been initiated with assistance from Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction.

According to the project details, 400km of highways and district roads will be rehabilitated and reconstructed in Sindh. Moreover, 85km of N-5, the busiest national highway between Sukkur and Hyderabad, and about 30 bridges of various types on national highways in Sindh, Balochistan and KP will also be rehabilitated.

The irrigation and drainage systems damaged by floods and the risk management infrastructure will be rehabilitated and reconstructed in KP and Balochistan, according to the project details.