Pakistan Earthquake

Pakistan has a strong institutional structure to prepare for and respond to natural disasters. The earthquake in 2005 was the catalyst that resulted in the creation of the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) and initiated a conversation on setting up a formal disaster management authority and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). NDMA is the lead agency at the federal level to deal with disaster management activities. The NDMA is a huge improvement on the National Calamities (Prevention and Relief) Act of 1958 that previously governed disaster-related activities. It is also aimed to strengthen disaster preparedness and focus on risk reduction. Despite these institutional improvements, competing interests remain a problem at every level, especially when it comes to the political economy of disaster relief. Mission overlap between policy making institutions also results in coordination issues and communication gaps. ERRA continues to exist despite NDMA being the federally backed body designated to lead. Recently, a Ministry of Climate Change was formed, but the issue of climate change has many overlaps with disasters and, hence, the relations between these bodies remain contentious. In short, given the frequency and intensity of recent events and the government’s institutionalized response, disaster management can certainly be considered a national and local priority. However, when it comes to disaster risk reduction, there remains a strong need for a coherent plan that would delineate the division of functions between the national and local level.

                         The Pakistan’s preparation and structures for the earthquakes are very helpful in lessening the casualties and damage of a certain buildings. Pakistan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, being crossed by several major faults. As a result, earthquakes in Pakistan occur often and destructive. The earthquakes there are mostly destructive and devastating which make people frightened and old or poorly built structures suffer considerable damage. Earthquakes are occurs anytime of the day and without knowing how strong the intensity and magnitude are. The steel bracings make us less worried because it will support the building or house to stay intact as possible which makes the steel bracings convenient.



                        Both the Philippines and Pakistan has an authority and agency regarding with the Earthquake preparedness. For the country Pakistan, they are under the help of an authority which is the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority. The ERRA is in partnership with the agency, National Disaster Management Authority, in regards with Earthquake preparedness. Both the ERRA and NDMA are responsible for managing the people of Pakistan to a safe place. As for the Philippines, they have the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. This management is a working group of various government, non-government, civil sector and private sector organizations of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines established by Republic Act 10121 of 2010. The NDRRMC plans and leads the guiding activities in the field of communication, warning signals, emergency, transportation, evacuation, rescue, engineering, health and rehabilitation, public education and auxiliary services such as firefighting and the police in the country.                        In terms with calamity, both countries, the Philippines and Pakistan, has a solid structure upon being prepared when a calamity pass. They are prone to volcanology and earthquake happenings as both are located in the Alpine-Himalayan Belt, also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire. Their agency regarding with calamities are not align with proper management as their plans are turbulent. For instance, when there is a place in Philippines that is a plate boundary, there are still people living in that certain place and the agency did not do something. But as for performances, people survived with a proper management by these authorities.


                        Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (an authority responsible for operational planning) established in the year 2005 by the Parliament of Pakistan National Disaster Management Authority a federal authority mandated to deal with whole spectrum of disasters (2007, August 17) by the jurisdiction of Constitution of Pakistan National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (2010, May) a Strategic Emergency Management under the National Jurisdiction in the Philippines.

Not a single soul can foretell when these earthquakes occur. It's all inevitable. But because of technologies and clever minds, we got to know how intense the earth shakes, on how big it's effect on the land. Seldom, we couldn't blame natural calamities. From its name, Natural. It's unavoidable. It will happen. And the only thing we can do and we are obliged to do is to lessen the effects of these calamities. By being disciplined and knowledgable enough. Listen to the signs, do not be ignorant and do not spread the hypocrisy. Pakistan is a big country, with a huge of numbers of individuals living, but they lack drills, they lack practices for these upcoming earthquakes. Like the Kashmir earthquake. They could have avoided lots of casualties, but they didn't because of the lack of knowledge. They can never avoid the Kashmir Earthquake but they could have avoided the fatalities. IF only they knew how to train and discipline themselves.