NDMA issues flood warning, later reluctant in owning technical details

Zeeshan Javaid

ISLAMABAD: National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), a civil administration entity in Pakistan, issued an early flood warning for the rivers of Punjab between September 17 and 18, but thereafter exhibited hesitation to defend the technical specifics as stated in an official bulletin.

Following the weekly weather forecast advisory issued by Pakistan Metrological Department (PMD), the leading institution NDMA, which manages disasters with a sizable annual budget, issued an early flood warning on September 13. It warned that Pakistan might experience another flood from September 17 to 18 in the coming days.

The upper catchment areas of the eastern rivers Ravi, Sutlej, and Chenab may be affected starting on September 17, 2022, according to a Pakistan Metrological Department (PMD) weather forecast bulletin with the official number C-091/22 that was released on September 13 and is available to this scribe.

The PMD office also predicted in its weather advisory that starting on September 18, 2022, water inflows may increase in eastern rivers and their associated nullahs and tributaries.

On September 9, the Pakistan Metrological Department (PMD) also forecasted significant rain in all major regions, including the upper and lower parts of the nation, although the entire nation has been experiencing dry weather for the past several days.

The disaster management government institution NDMA issued the early flood warning in Punjab rivers Ravi, Sutlej, and Chenab from September 17–18 in a hurry without verifying the technical details of the PMD weather forecast with various attached departments, including the Federal Flood Commission (FFC), Indus Water Commission (IWC), and Indus River System Authority (IRSA). This inadvertently spread panic among the relevant government institutions, civil, and military administrations, and the public indeed.

The only two options that could cause flooding in the rivers under the current environment, especially as the monsoon season draws to a close, are either excessive rainfall in the nation or an unjustified release of water by India into Pakistani water reserves.

The water inflows in eastern rivers between the dates of September 17 and 23 are typical, according to the most current meteorological and flood forecast data from the Indian Metrological Department that was made available to the scribe.

In its weather advisory, the Indian Meteorological Department reported that Madhya Pradesh’s western and eastern regions experienced relatively widespread and isolated rainfalls on September 17 and 18, respectively, while Madhya Pradesh’s eastern region experienced relatively widespread and scattered rainfalls on the same dates.

In addition to the other uniformed top brass, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) office is staffed with a large number of civilian and military workers in the outreach and communication division.

Everyone in the department of communications and outreach was reluctant to respond to the scribe’s request to the NDMA for comment on such a serious matter. The scribe tried phoning Mr. Idrees Masood identifying as the spokesperson numerous times but was unable to reach him. He even failed to return messages left on his WhatsApp number.

Another female officer from the Information Group, Ms. Sara Malik, who holds the position of Executive Director (ED) Media at the NDMA, informed the reporter that Major Kanwal, who is designated as the Public Relations Officer (PRO), was on leave.

While responding to the inquiries, ED media Sara Malik was of the opinion that NDMA only issues early flood warnings on the basis of advisories issued by the Pakistan Metrological Department (PMD) and Federal Flood Commission (FFC) and nothing else and that NDMA does not have the capability of counter-checking scientifically.