PESHAWAR: The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and International Rescue Committee (IRC) have launched the disaster management information system (DMIS) in the province saying the initiative will ensure quick access to accurate actionable information and better handling of disasters with modern management skills to minimise losses to public life and infrastructure.

According to them, the system’s launch came after “extensive collaboration and working” between the PDMA and IRC in view of the previous challenges of information management challenges.

During the concluding session of a two-day training programme by the IRC for 52 PDMA field assistants and divisional reporting officers from across the province, chief of the authority Sharif Hussain said the DMIS system was developed as per geographic contextual needs and entailed comprehensive modules on incident reporting, relief management, monitoring of water levels in rivers, integration of weather updates with the Met Office and camp management information.

“The key innovation under the DMIS is the GIS component to enable the PDMA to plot all incidences on a map and generate a daily situation report,” he said.

IRC holds training programme for PDMA officials

Mr Hussain said information would support relief organisations in planning and implementation of humanitarian response.

He added that the system could record public grievances, which was routed to the relevant district administration for corrective actions.

The PDMA chief said those modules were designed holistically to address a pre and post scenario where the DMIS serves as an early warning system and in the aftermath of disaster provides timely information for a speedy coordinated response based on realtime information.

He said the system was cognisant of the challenges faced in supply chain and therefore, a module was in place to issue automated supplies based on the inputs from respective districts.

IRC country director Shabnam Baloch, who was also in attendance, said her organisation was also collaborating with the National Disaster Management Authority.

“Such collaboration will pave way for policymakers and humanitarian agencies to make informed decisions during the phases of relief, early recovery and rehabilitation of populations that are impacted by calamities,” she said.

Ms Baloch said Pakistan was vulnerable to climate shocks but had little capacity to invest in preventative infrastructure.

“It is imperative that these initiatives are scaled up and resources are allocated towards a climate resilient Pakistan,” he said.

The organisers said the event was held to provide hands-on training to the officials along with supplementary resources for DMIS and play an important role in capacity building towards furnishing as well as disseminating the accurate and latest information to all relevant organisations.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2023