ISLAMABAD: Around Rs3.3 billion have so far in the Prime Minister’s Flood Relief Fund, officials of the National Disaster Management Authority told a Senate panel.

The Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change which was held with chairperson Seemee Ezdi in the chair assessed the total flood damage and relief assistance received by the government from the international community on Thursday.

Below are the evaluations as of September 11:

• A total of 1,412 persons killed
• Around 1,749,532 houses damaged
• An estimated 771,141 livestock was washed away from north to south

Climate change was a major issue for the country and the construction of check dams, and revival of natural waterways was necessary to lessen the disastrous effects of the floods, committee member Taj Haider said.

The climate change ministry briefed the panel about the National Hazardous and Waste Management Policy. The committee discussed the steps taken by the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF-II) project in reducing flood risks and preventing casualties resulting from it.

Officials said the phenomenon geographically operates in Gilgit Baltistan’s 10 districts, eight of Khyber Pakhtunkwa and their primary work included a warning to locals regarding floods. Moreover, community-based disaster risk management centres and safe havens have been created.

They claimed that awareness sessions for locals, and the creation and maintenance of gabion walls and irrigation channels for the reduction of flood damages were also part of the project.

Procurement of an early warning system was in the process which would provide “exact data” about floods and would be helpful in preventing the loss of life and property in the northern areas, officials said.

“There is a dire need for joint effort for the preservation of forest owing to their importance for our ecosystem,” chairperson Semee Ezdi while deliberating on the forest fire incident in KP.

Pakistan was already listed among the top most vulnerable countries due to climate change, she stressed. Ezdi directed the secretaries of forest departments of all four provinces to brief the Senate body about their policies and efforts for the preservation of forests.