The Federal Minister for Water & Power, Khawaja Muhammad Asif Chaired a meeting of Federal Flood Commission to review arrangements made by the Provinces and Federal Lines Agencies for the Monsoon Season 2016.
All the stakeholders briefed the meeting regarding preemptive measures taken to minimize effects of flood damages in the event of occurrence of floods.
The preparedness of NDMA/PDMAs was also discussed in detail with regard to relief and rescue preparations. The Minister directed them to remain vigilant throughout the flood season and further improve upon the already made preparations.
The Pakistan Army informed that they were ready and vigilant for rescue operations in case there were floods.
The Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of Mangla and Tarbela Dam were also presented to inform all stakeholders about their operation during the flood season.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) presented the forecast for 2016 Monsoon Season. The Minister instructed PMD to improve their weather forecast to give ample time to deal with any emergency situation.
In view of forecast of rains and expected urban flooding, provinces were asked to be vigilant and ready. Secondly, encroachments restricting free flow of rivers which may result in floods were discussed and relevant authorities were asked to remove these bottlenecks. Additionally, desilting and removal of encroachments of Nullahs passing through urban areas including Rawalpindi, Multan, Sialkot, Lahore and Faisalabad was stressed.
The flood plain maps, prepared by Consultants i.e. NESPAK have already been distributed to the Provinces wherein the level and extent of inundation are clearly marked with respect to various scenarios of water flows in rivers.
It was stressed that now the onus lied with Provincial and Federal Line Agencies to cope with any flood situation arising during the 2016 Monsoon Season.
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