Flood Disaster Management by Relief Department
Mian Muhammad Zulqarnain Aamir
Director General (Relief)
Punjab
Introduction
Natural calamities like fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes,
droughts, famines and earthquake evoke images of horror. Floods
are by far the most devastating among them. After air, water is the
most vital element for human survival but only in an appropriate
quantity. The Quran says “By means of water we gave life to
everything”. Interestingly the word water is mentioned 32 times in
the Quran and land 13 giving a ratio of 72:28, which is
approximately the same between water and other things in human
body or water and land on earth. However the salubrity of water
ends the moment it touches scarcity or abundance and gives us
drought or floods instead. Floods come as a vagary of nature whose
adverse effects have been multiplied by ruthless and selfish
exploitation of Mother Nature by man. Out of all the natural
disasters floods can be predicted with some degree of certainty,
thanks to advancement in meteorological sciences which also helps
plan fighting it. Pakistan as a flood prone, poor, underdeveloped
country requires an efficient Flood Disaster Management Plan.
As the Director General (Relief) since March 2002, I have
undertaken this exercise which aims at saving lives, preventing
sufferings,
protecting
infra-structure,
livestock,
machinery,
equipment, and stocks of resources etc. from damage and
destruction caused by floods. The public sector inherently has a
reactive approach to disaster management and does not consider a
proactive approach to plan fighting it. Although a Flood Disaster
Plan exists in the Relief Department since 1982 which considers
flood disaster as a simple and temporary interruption in the
administrative functions, it lacks a reliable system for assessment
of damage and the implementation of the relief plan. Religiously
following the event triggered approach all the concerned
departments like Irrigation, Communications, Health, and Livestock,
slumber after every flood till they are rudely awakened by the next
floods. Irrigation Department concerns itself only with the
construction of spurs and embankments and has yet to come up
with any worthwhile plan. Despite many floods in the preceding
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years, only one comprehensive study about the causes, behavior,
effect, and after-effects of floods was completed in 1992 personally
by a Chief Engineer. The floods of nullahs and Rodkohis have never
been given due importance as they do not shake the power centers.
The invariably dubious quality of the embankments due to inherent
corruption in the system has also led to some damaging floods in
the past especially in 1973.
These were some of the reasons which convinced my predecessor
Ch Zafar Iqbal to initiate making a workable, comprehensive and
dynamic Flood Disaster Management Plan in 2001, which remained
incomplete due to his transfer from the department. I improved
upon it in 2002 and 2003 but it is still undergoing change. This plan
embraces the disaster situations caused by floods and optimizes the
use of available resources. It is functional and flexible for meeting
all flood disaster eventualities. An effort has been made to widen
the scope of tactical management to strategic management.
Creativity has replaced the stereotype for producing better results
by optimizing the scarce resources. The material has been collected
from official files of the relevant departments of the Government of
Punjab such as Relief and Irrigation etc.
Floods and Flood Disasters
Let us see what we mean by floods and disasters they bring.
UNISDR, in ‘Living with Risk’, defines disaster as “a serious
disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing
widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses
which exceed the ability of the affected community/society to cope
using its own resources”. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica,
flood is a “high water stage in which water overflows its natural or
artificial banks onto normally dry land, such as a river inundating its
flood plain”. The effects of flood on human well-being “range from
unqualified blessings to unimaginable catastrophes”. Flood disaster
can thus be defined as, “a catastrophic situation caused by floods in
which the routine patterns of life are suddenly disrupted, and a
large number of people are plunged into haplessness and suffering,
and consequently need protection, food, clothing, shelter, medical
care and other basic necessities”.
Pakistan is no stranger to floods or havocs they wreck, thanks to its
geographical location. It falls in the arid zone with irregular rain
pattern. The total area of Punjab Province is 51 million acres of
which 7.7 million acres fall in the active flood zone. As per 1998
2
Census the total population of the Province is about 72,585,430
with 14.5 million falling in the active flood zone. It has a
tremendous water source in the shape of Indus River System which
drains bulk of its fertile land.
All the rivers and their tributaries originate from HKH region. The
heavy rains in monsoon and snowmelt in the summers bring
uninterrupted flow of water which finds little resistance from scanty
4% vegetation in the shape of forests. Although we have the
longest, contiguous irrigation system in the world with a vast
network of barrages, small dams, rivers and canals, our water
management system through the operations of head-works, has
gradually deteriorated which has further worsened the situation.
But we also find a use of these floods as the Barani areas depend
on the sustainable use of this water for their livelihood.
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Pakistan as a flood prone country has a limited capacity to manage
the concomitant disasters. Floods displace people and snatch away
their livelihoods. The supply driven interventions by the state are
not enough to mitigate their sufferings. These are not conceived in
developmental terms and due to inefficient state machinery and
poor planning, even worsen the situation. Demand driven approach
has been a good alternate for equitable distribution of relief and
sustainable rehabilitation. The floods in the Punjab are a normal
feature of its rivers. The floods in Ravi, Sutlej and Jhelum are
caused mainly by heavy rainfall in the upper catchment areas
during the monsoon season from July to September, when tropical
storms come from the Bay of Bengal and occasionally from the
Arabian Sea. The floods in Chenab and Indus however, originate
from a combination of heavy rainfall and snowmelt. Sometimes
landslide and glacial movements have also caused floods in Indus
River. A landslide across the Indus River at Hatti Pir (spur) on
Nanga Mountain in 1841 formed a temporary obstruction for six
months which created a 35 miles long lake. When the barrier burst
in the ensuing springs, the stored water flowed downstream causing
one of the worst floods in the history of Punjab. The high flood of
1929 in the Indus, were similarly caused by the movement of the
Chong Kundan glacier across the Shyok River in Baltistan and its
subsequent bursting when pushed by the water accumulated behind
it.
The mountainous catchments area with steep denuded slopes and
limited valley storage helps rapid build up of flood peaks
aggravated further by the layout of plains. The rivers in Punjab
have become shallow due to lengthening of their channels through
meandering course and continuous silting. The large withdrawals of
water for the canal irrigation system and flow constrictions caused
by the river draining and regulation structures have also
deteriorated the riverbeds thus reducing their flood carrying
capacity. Where the rivers flow on ridges higher than the adjoining
land even moderate floods spill over the banks. Human
encroachment of the flood plains has also increased the flood
hazards. Hence the two important causes of floods in Punjab can be
attributed to the decrease in the flood flow carrying capacity of the
rivers and human encroachment of the natural area of the flood
plains.
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Punjab has witnessed the following high floods in increasing
frequency since independence:
a. Ravi and the Chenab in 1947
b. Jhelum and the Chenab in 1948
c. Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej in 1950
d. Sutlej in 1951,
e. Jhelum and Chenab in 1953
f. Chenab and Ravi in 1954
g. Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej in 1955
h. Jhelum 1956
i. Chenab and Ravi in 1957
j. Indus, Chenab, Jhelum and Ravi in 1958
k. Chenab and Ravi in 1959
l. Sutlej in 1961
m. Chenab and Ravi in 1962
n. Chenab in 1966
o. Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej in 1973
p. Chenab and Ravi in 1975
q. Indus, Jhelum, Chenab and Ravi in 1976.
r. Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej in 1988
s. Indus, Jhelum, Chenab and Sutlej in 1992
t. Indus, Chenab and Ravi in 1996
The floods of 1959, 1973 and 1992 were the severest due to
synchronization of flood peaks at confluence points of the rivers.
The 1973, 1992 and 1996 were mega floods that caused massive
damages to men and material.
Heavy rainfalls by themselves can cause serious flooding by hill
torrents in some areas. 11 major hill torrent areas have been
identified including Sialkot, Narowal, D.G. Khan and Rajanpur
districts. D.G. Khan torrents have maximum damage and
development potential. Catchment area of the hill torrents spreads
over 9,400 Sq. miles. The area between the foothills of the
Suleman Range and the right bank of Indus River from Ramak to
Taunsa Barrage and area enclosed between the right bank of
D.G.Khan Canal system and foothills upto Kashmore is locally
known as "Pachad Area". The hill torrents cause intense flash floods
of short duration. Due to steep gradient the water flows with high
velocity causing heavy erosion. Flood management by dams or
detention reservoirs is precluded by the high silt contents which are
offloaded on the flatter areas because of reduced velocity. This
leads to unpredictable and erratic torrents and the flow paths
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requiring innovative and economic flood disaster management. Low
flows of the hill torrents are usefully employed by the farmers in
sub-mountainous and Pachad Area by construction of small earthen
bunds. High flows of the hill torrents breach earthen division bunds
and move towards D.G. Khan Canal System which has 20 hill
torrent crossings with an aggregate capacity of 103,600 cusecs.
Problems are aggravated when the total flows of torrents exceed
the capacity of the cross-drainage works. The accumulated water
along the right bank of the canal frequently causes serious breaches
in the canal and devastates the canal command area.
The monsoon downpour can itself cause flooding as it did on 23rd
July 2001 in Rawalpindi. An unprecedented rain of 625 mm
breaking the previous record of 327 mm created a 38 ft high mega
flash current killing people, damaging property and paralyzing the
municipal services in the city for a week.
Breaches into big canals cause the most innocuous of all the floods.
They have limited impact which can be dealt with quickly by closing
the canals from their Headworks. However the most serious and
devastating floods are the flash floods resulting from an
unanticipated breach or from a collapse of a flood protection
embankment. When filled with water, it would engulf vast areas
outside the natural flood plains with a sudden rise and speed
precluding any warning and evacuation measures. During 1973
floods, devastation was caused by breaches on left Marginal Bunds
of Khanki and Punjnad, and the right Marginal Bund of Trimmu.
Floods are always destructive and flood disaster management
efforts can succeed only if enough lag time is available from the
rushing waters. Alongside necessary pre-flood long-term measures,
the immediate steps taken in the light of a flood forecast are crucial
to save life and property. The flash floods are even more difficult to
handle. Preparing a Flood Disaster Management Plan to deal with all
sorts of eventualities is, thus, quite complex venture. It must be a
concerted and vibrant effort on the concerned departments' part.
Flood Management Plan by the Relief Department
The 1973 flood disaster came as a surprise, after a long dry spell,
causing immense damage to life and property and badly affecting
the country’s economy. No independent relief department to handle
such eventualities existed before this tragic flood and the
Government used to deal with such problems on adhoc basis.
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Recognizing the need for an organized and coordinated relief effort
at all levels, the Government created Relief Department on 1st
January 1975. No such department, however, exists in any other
Province of Pakistan. The department still handled the subsequent
flood disasters on temporary and urgent basis having no
pronounced policy on the subject. Its establishment rather brought
complacency to the people as they took the Government as sole
responsible to meet such eventualities and generally felt discharged
of any obligations. The government however considered formulating
a coordinated plan by the Relief Department to be implemented
through provincial departments, divisional Commissioners and
Deputy Commissioners of flood prone districts in liaison with the
Federal Flood Commission and Meteorological Department. Relief
Commissioner being the Secretary of the Department was made
responsible for implementation of the pronounced policy of the
Government regarding matters of anticipation of disaster, managing
during floods, and relief and rehabilitation when the floods were
over. Today the responsibility of handling all the natural calamities
rests with this department in coordination with other provincial
departments and district authorities. Section 3-6 of the West
Pakistan Act XXXIII of 1958, West Pakistan National Calamities
(Prevention & Relief) Act, 1958, vests the Relief Commissioner with
vast powers in this regard.
A flood disaster plan was chalked out by the Department in 1982.
The plan failed to address all the areas during the two major floods
in Punjab in 1992 and 1996 and needs major revision. Flood
disaster management needs an articulated policy to be
implemented before, during and after the flood. Instead of getting
into the controversy of what is or what should be I have followed an
incremental approach – improvement by bits here and there. I am
also involved in formulating the National Disaster Management
Strategy which is a long term effort with the help of UNDP and
other agencies. This plan will then become part of that strategy.
Here are the steps some of which are already being taken and the
others will be included in the forthcoming flood year.
Pre-Flood Arrangements
Floods’ effects can be largely mitigated with timely forecasts. The
Government has modernized the Meteorological Department
installing state-of-the-art Doppler radar at Lahore capable of
scanning through rainy clouds and predicting percentage of water in
them. It can forecast when and where it is going to rain. The
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Government of Pakistan has also installed 5 other radars to monitor
the rains not only in the catchment areas but also areas like
Karachi, Baluchistan, and Sialkot. This element of predictability has
increased the capability of Meteorological Department to forecast
the rains and their intensity which can help assess the flow of the
runoff. On daily basis, the Meteorological Department forecasts
weather and Irrigation Department provides discharge reports of
the rivers and Nullahs not only on the Rim Stations but also from
the Dams and Barrages during the flood season (June to October).
This enables the Government to take necessary pre-cautionary
measures.
The Relief Commissioner who is also Chairman Provincial Flood
Commission holds the first pre-flood review meeting in the month
of April with all the heads of provincial departments and district
governments to direct them to prepare their yearly flood fighting
plans within a fortnight, so that a consolidated plan is prepared at
the provincial level. After receiving their plans, the Relief
Department takes the following pre-flood pre-cautionary measures:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Places the district plans on the website of the Government of
the Punjab at www.punjab.gov.pk. The site also contains all
the relevant information for the general public to combat the
floods effectively.
The Relief Department establishes a Flood Forecasting Centre
in Lahore which works round the clock during flood season
from 15 June to 15 October. The representatives of WAPDA,
Irrigation, Police Telecommunications, Railways, Pakistan
Broadcasting Corporation, Relief and Highways Departments
coordinate day and night to disseminate information
regarding the flood situation or the forecasts of the
Meteorological Department to the provincial departments,
army authorities, district heads and other relevant quarters.
This information is immediately logged, uploaded on the
website of the Met Department www.met.gov.pk, and also
passed through Fax, telephone and wireless.
Evacuation of the marooned people to already selected safer
places is planned. Relief camps are set up and roads are
checked for pliability to ensure the supply of relief goods
when needed. Rehearsals are made without creating false
alarm. Everything is double checked and double ensured.
The joint teams of Irrigation Department, Pakistan Army and
District Governments carry out the inspection of protection
embankments, headworks, barrages and breaching sections
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v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
and submit their reports to the Relief Department. This is
crucial because breaching sections are identified and steps
are taken to ensure that in case of any eventuality, human
settlements and areas of greater importance would be saved
from floods by diverting the flow of water by breaching
already identified sections of the waterways.
It is ensured that the Pakistan Army shifts the explosives
meant for breaching sections immediately before the onset of
monsoon season. All the breaching sections (which were
seventeen till 2003) are identified again as per ground
realities and approved by the Provincial Flood Commission.
The Federal Flood Commission ensures the arrangement with
the Government of India regarding the provision of
information about flood flows at Rupar below, Harike below,
Ferozpur below, Bhakra Dam on Sutlej, Madhopur on Ravi
and Pong Dam on Beas through telephone and fax and in
Chenab main at Akhnoor, Jammu Tawi at Jammu, and Ravi
main below Madhopur through Jammu Radio. It also ensures
hourly, three hourly and six hourly reception of information
about flood flows in River Sutlej and Beas in rainy season.
This arrangement assumes importance as all our main rivers
except Indus enter Pakistan from India and have vast parts of
their catchment areas in that country. The latest radars give
us information about the intensity of the rainfall, but cannot
tell when and how much water will be released by India from
her reservoirs. This arrangement has worked so far even
during the escalation of hostilities in 2001, though there have
been stumbling blocks such as heavy charges demanded by
India. The Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters, however,
ensures that the system delivers.
Quick and early relay of information is ensured through
installing HF wireless sets at all the barrages, Headworks and
critical points by the Punjab Police. Vehicular or walkie-talkie
sets are provided to people working on vulnerable points.
The relief equipment including 731 boats, 892 OBMs, 7608
life jackets, 4920 tents, 7400 blankets, and 435 de-watering
sets etc., owned by the Relief Department, is placed at the
disposal of the Army troops deployed in vulnerable areas for
use during emergency. These things are physically checked
time and again to avoid failure when needed.
Hydrological forecast are developed with the help of staff
deputed at Rim Stations which are the points from where the
rivers enter the Pakistan territory.
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x.
xi.
xii.
xiii.
xiv.
xv.
xvi.
xvii.
xviii.
The irrigation department, in consultation with the Army
authorities deputed for this duty, ensures the replenishment
of stone walls at vulnerable points to check the erosion
process which caused major floods in the past. It certifies that
all replenishment has been done and there are no weak
points in the embankments or spurs.
The Livestock Department according to the scheduled
program completes its pre-flood vaccination in second weak
of May and they are under the obligation to keep ample
dosages of these vaccines for use in case of any emergency
and are also directed to keep sufficient quantity of fodder and
animal feed as reserve stock. They maintain sufficient supply
of curative medicine at adjacent veterinary centers in case of
flood emergency. Many mobile teams are constituted to deal
with any emergency regarding livestock.
An emergency Centre of Provincial Health Department is set
up in the D.G.'s office at Lahore to supervise all district
headquarter centers' functioning. In the last year 509
ambulances, 892 mobile rescue teams with total staff of 3568
and 777 static rescue teams with total staff of
2394
were
earmarked. Beds for the flood victims at DHQ, THQ, and RHCs
are reserved for cases of cholera, snakebite and other
diseases. D.G. Health is responsible to keep sufficient stock of
essential medicines including ORS, Bleaching Powder,
Chlorine Tablets, and Anti Venom Serum.
Food Department maintains sufficient stock of wheat at safer
places near the flood prone areas.
The Industries Department ensures the smooth supply of POL
during flood season.
In big cities cleaning of sewerage and desilting is done before
the rainy season. De-watering pumps available with the
corporations are tested, repaired and deployed at vulnerable
points.
WAPDA deputes teams to ensure timely restoration of electric
supply in any emergency.
The Communication and Works Department makes the road
position and alternative routes during emergency, known to
the public.
Districts Disaster Management Committees comprising the
District Coordination Officers and all the district heads of
relevant departments. After devolution plan the role of deputy
commissioner as head of the relief organizations at the
district levels has been assigned to the DCO. This, however, is
not functioning well since the DCO no more wields that
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authority which the DC had as a district magistrate. This
aspect needs further evaluation for a smoother function of
these committees.
All the concerned departments are mobilized to prepare a holistic
all-encompassing Flood Disaster Management Plan to tackle any
contingency arising out of floods. Nothing is left to chance or taken
for granted. Every measure to be taken in case of any eventuality is
well considered and well rehearsed. Mobile teams of various
departments keep vigil with very well coordinated efforts under the
supervision of the Relief Department. Floods can not be preempted, yet the disasters they cause can be reduced by
implementing and following this pre-flood management plan.
During-Flood Arrangements
Natural calamity like flood cannot essentially be tamed. All precautionary measures taken during the pre-flood arrangements
sometimes prove insufficient. In case of confrontation with this
disaster the nature of steps to be taken change suddenly. The
problems in disaster relief are tremendous whose priorities may
not be obvious. Saving life is usually paramount but restoring public
services, repairing communications, preventing epidemics and
providing compensations have their own significance. Following
steps are taken during the emergency:
i.
During floods many people get stranded and marooned in
inundated areas and may have to be safely and
immediately evacuated. The District Governments evacuate
the flood affectees to the pre-arranged safer areas with the
help of Army. The Army deploys its troops immediately in
the already earmarked areas. The boats placed at their
disposal are utilized for evacuation and even the army
aviation helicopters are called if needed.
ii.
After evacuation, the flood victims are shifted to Relief
Camps where they get food, medicines and temporary
shelter.
iii.
Evacuation of livestock and cattle heads comes next.
iv.
The immediate relief provided to the flood victims by the
Relief Department includes funds for provision of food for
them and fodder for their cattle on sustained basis which is
ensured by placing these funds at the disposal of district
governments right away.
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v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
To monitor the flow of rivers round the clock, sharp vigil is
kept at all the Headworks and rim-stations etc and the
Relief Department and other Government agencies are kept
abreast of the latest situation.
The Revenue authorities of the flooded area immediately
start preparation of reports of loss of human life, cattle and
property and send them to the Provincial and Federal
Governments to help them prepare the relief packages.
The Mobile Teams constituted by the Health and the
Livestock Departments come into operation immediately for
the purposes of vaccination, inoculation, treatment and
cure. The affectees are provided with the chlorine tablets to
ensure the provision of safe drinking water. Cholera
vaccination, anti-venom serum and other medical help are
ensured. ORS is supplied regularly, and emergency beds
are arranged in the hospitals. The cattle are also
vaccinated.
Tents, blankets and de-watering sets are provided
immediately. After temporarily ensconsing the affectees in
the camps, the rehabilitation work including repair of roads
and irrigation channels, and restoration of electricity,
telecommunication and gas etc is started immediately so as
to repatriate them to their home and hearth.
Post-Flood Arrangements
When the flood waters recede and the danger is sub-sided, the
most difficult of all the flood-disaster management stages begins.
Lot of work is on the hands of the Government. The breaches in the
embankments are to be filled in, the bunds are to be replenished,
people are to be repatriated, various relief packages are to be
announced, areas worst affected by the floods are to be declared
calamity hit and various monetary packages are to be announced
for such places, provisions of soft loans and funds have to be
arranged, the deceased, the perished cattle, the injured, and the
demolished houses are to be compensated for, measures are to be
taken against the outbreak of epidemics. A whole lot of issues need
attention and an effective Flood Disaster Management Plan must
address all such issues.
The calamity of flood disaster, of swirling water waves instills the
fear of deprivation into the minds of the affectees so intensely that
they go into depression. This psychological depression is
compounded by the financial one, and consequently they suffer
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from many a phobia. Most of the inhabitants of the flood prone
areas are illiterate having little knowledge of their rights. They not
only suffer at the hands of the political leadership in our insatiable
society but also from the callously indifferent attitude of the local
officials. To further accentuate the problem they are invariably
instinctively fatalists and make do with the hardships they suffer at
the hands of nature. They are happy with whatever they get. Dr
Amartya Sen, Indian Nobel Laureate, says that the relief has a
political dimensions; the rich gets richer, the poor the poorer. In a
politically charged society with partisan district administration it is
quite possible that the relief goes to those who matter in the power
game. It can be avoided only by ensuring the neutrality of the relief
distributing agencies. The relief packages by the Government are
usually delayed so inordinately that they lose any significance. For
the past two years, however, the department has acted promptly
and ensured that no bureaucratic bottlenecks delay these packages.
Next the affectees have to be repatriated and re-established on
their soil for which the Relief Department has its job cut out. During
the preparation of the loss assessment lists, the survey of calamity
affected families and households are carried out by the local
revenue officials and then the lists are sent to the Relief
Department. A formula is evolved to compensate for the losses, and
the payments are made forthwith to the affectees. Very often the
figures of losses do not reflect the true picture, yet Relief
Department tries to ensure that the deserving people get their due
share. For this purpose it conducts surprise visits and monitors the
process continuously. Following scale is currently adopted for
compensation:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
Loss of Bread-earner.
Loss of Non-Bread-earner.
House completely destroyed.
House partially destroyed
Cattle head perished.
Critical serious injuries
(Permanent disability or
loss of limbs).
Rs.1,00,000/Rs. 65,000/Rs. 15,000/Rs. 10,000/Rs. 15,000/Rs. 50,000/-
Though seem paltry, these amounts mean a lot to the people who
live in the flood prone zones. They also reflect well on the
Government's part. These arrangements are ensured by the Flood
Disaster Management Plan to mitigate the suffering of the affected
people at large. The Relief Department makes it a point to help the
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unlucky sufferers as best as it can. Its mission is to reach the most
distressed.
All the concerned departments coordinate for the restoration of
services and the rehabilitation of the flood affectees. The roads and
water channels are opened and repaired on priority basis, because
these are the life lines of the rural population. The Irrigation
Department gets busy in replenishing the affected embankments
and irrigation infrastructure. The lessons learnt from the present
experience lead to corrective measures in the future.
The Relief Department oversees the working of the area
administration in implementation of relief and rehabilitation
schemes and the social Welfare Department coordinates the efforts
of NGOs for re-settlement and rehabilitation of the affected people.
Today the devolution of State, empowerment of people, the civil
society intervention and public private partnership have become the
buzzwords and they all give a big role to the NGOs, CBOs and
NPOs. They should be encouraged and helped to join the
Government departments for betterment of the people. The
shortcomings in our system that hamper the efficient progress of
work can be overcome by the effective participation of the dynamic
and proficient NGOs. Inviting them at the policy formulation level
may help serve the areas justly which are otherwise overlooked by
the Government departments.
The Post-Flood Disaster Management is the most sensitive and
arduous task and has to be implemented with patience and
indulgence. This stage completes the Flood Disaster Management
Plan.
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