FRC and national disasters

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 are destructive. The Government established a Federal Relief Commission (FRP) to step up coordination in the massive rescue and relief operations like earthquakes. The earthquake that hit northern Pakistan on 8 October 2005 caused widespread destruction, killing over 73,000 people, severely injuring many more and leaving millions without shelter. Majority of health care units and hospitals collapsed. Doublessly it was the worst calamity of Pakistan history.No disaster management organisation existed to handle a relief operation on such a large scale, and the existing infrastructure was either very poor or totally destroyed. Realising the gravity of the disaster, the government immediately formed the Federal Relief Commission (FRC), with a mandate to manage the entire spectrum of the relief effort. Within days, the FRC had taken charge of the situation. The scale of the disaster, the harsh weather conditions and the collapse of civil order in the affected areas called for a response mechanism which could provide quick decision-making, coupled with the efficient execution of directives on ground. The Commission conceived and implemented an elaborate National Action Plan to ensure a coherent response, spelling out domains, policies and end-states for all the stakeholders and key players. The plan also provided for financial compensation for survivors, amounting to several billion rupees. Inter-agency coordination and the synchronisation of relief efforts were ensured through Strategic Leaders Group Meetings, which integrated the UNs cluster approach into FRC strategy, with a view to developing a common operating picture and guidelines for all the agencies concerned. Within the FRC itself, there were two distinct wings, the military and the civilian. The military wing was responsible for undertaking the rescue and relief operation, while the civilian wing, comprising ministerial representative and coordinators, looked after inter-department and inter-agency issues. It has been claimed that the earthquake response was the most successful relief operation in recent history.
Laiba Fatima
Bahawalpur