By Malik Bilal
Major disasters in Pakistan mobilize a substantial national response. Government institutions activate emergency arrangements, rescue teams enter affected areas, humanitarian organizations assess needs, charities provide assistance and communities support one another. These efforts save lives and demonstrate considerable national capacity. Yet recent emergencies have also exposed recurring weaknesses in local preparedness, information sharing and the coordination of assistance.
Pakistan’s coordination gap lies in the uneven connection between national warnings, provincial resource allocation and district action. Information does not consistently translate into timely decisions and decisions are not always supported by the authority, financing and capacity required for delivery.
The country’s disaster management framework, established under the National Disaster Management Act, 2010, provides for national, provincial and district authorities. Rescue 1122, technical departments, the armed forces, humanitarian agencies and local organizations contribute essential capabilities. The Act provides for district planning, training, communication systems and periodic drills. The challenge is to translate these provisions into dependable operational arrangements across districts with different levels of risk and capacity.
The scale of the task is substantial. The 2022 floods affected around 33 million people and displaced approximately eight million. The government-led Post-Disaster Needs Assessment estimated physical damages exceeding US$14.9 billion and economic losses of about US$15.2 billion. The 2025 monsoon brought further deaths, displacement and damage to homes, livelihoods and infrastructure. These events reinforce the need for coordination arrangements that function before, during and after an emergency.
The weaknesses are documented in official assessments. NDMA’s 2025 post-monsoon review identified data collection and verification gaps, limited dissemination of warnings to remote communities, the absence of district-level contingency funds and delays in resource allocation. It also recorded uneven information flows and response capacity among provincial authorities, district administrations and local governments. These findings point to a practical implementation problem: warnings and plans become less effective when local institutions lack the means to act on them.
The first priority should therefore be district readiness. A contingency plan must be supported by trained personnel, functioning communications, accessible shelters, evacuation transport and available supplies. Provincial governments should require high-risk districts to complete a readiness review before each monsoon, identifying operational gaps, responsible departments and the resources needed to address them. District authorities should implement the Act’s provision for periodic disaster-management drills, including testing evacuation arrangements and documenting corrective actions. This would make preparedness a responsibility that can be assessed and followed up.
Warnings must also provide information that families can use. People need to know whether their locality is at risk, when to leave, where to go and what assistance is available. Communication should combine local-language messages with community volunteers, radio and public announcements, particularly where mobile coverage is unreliable. Evacuation arrangements must account for women, older people, persons with disabilities and households concerned about livestock or property. Authorities should assess whether warnings reach communities and prompt protective action.
At the provincial level, PDMAs should consolidate district information into an operational picture of needs, available assistance, access constraints and outstanding requests. Reporting must distinguish assistance planned, dispatched and delivered. Supplies leaving a warehouse do not establish that affected households have received them. Coordination reviews should use this information to identify underserved locations, resolve gaps in coverage and assign responsibility for pending decisions.
These improvements should build on existing systems. NDMA’s 2025 review records progress through the DIRA reporting platform while identifying further integration and verification needs. National and provincial authorities should agree common definitions, location identifiers and reporting requirements so that government and humanitarian systems can exchange necessary information. Clear access rules should protect personal and sensitive data. The objective is a more reliable basis for operational decisions.
During major emergencies, national arrangements should establish clear interfaces with relevant UN and humanitarian coordination structures. Joint assessments and shared operational priorities can reduce parallel reporting and help identify unmet needs. Government leadership should be accompanied by respect for humanity, neutrality, impartiality and operational independence. Civil–military liaison arrangements should clarify requests for aviation, engineering and logistics support while preserving the independent, needs-based decisions of humanitarian organizations.
The second priority is dependable financing for preparedness and early action. The revised 2022 Floods Response Plan sought approximately US$816 million for humanitarian assistance, illustrating the scale of the appeal following a major disaster. Emergency appeals remain important, but local readiness also requires funds available before losses occur. Provincial finance departments and disaster management authorities should agree district contingency allocations, release procedures, authorized uses and reporting requirements in advance. Clear financial arrangements would help shorten the interval between an operational decision and its implementation.
Pakistan already has experience in anticipatory action. WFP reports that, during the 2025 floods, WFP and FAO delivered anticipatory cash assistance in Khairpur before peak flooding. The announcement of Pakistan’s first Anticipatory Action Strategy provides a further foundation for this approach. Implementation should connect hazard-specific forecasts with agreed triggers, pre-arranged financing, designated delivery agencies and feasible early actions. Expansion should reflect local risk, forecast reliability and the capacity to deliver support within the available warning period.
Local organizations and communities should participate with adequate resources and a meaningful voice. Partnerships should define responsibilities, funding and access to operational information before emergencies. Affected people also need accessible channels to ask questions, report exclusion and obtain referrals. General feedback arrangements should be coordinated, while complaints involving exploitation, abuse or other sensitive protection concerns require confidential handling by designated personnel.
The third priority is accountability for operational decisions. District and provincial coordination forums should maintain an action register identifying each decision, its responsible institution, required resources, deadline and completion status. Unresolved issues should move through a defined escalation process. Post-emergency reviews should examine warning reach, evacuation readiness, assistance delivery and complaint resolution, with findings used to revise plans and budgets.
Before the next monsoon, provincial governments should prioritize documented readiness reviews in high-risk districts, agreed contingency financing procedures and operational reporting that tracks delivery and outstanding decisions. NDMA should support common standards and coordination across these arrangements. Each priority needs an institutional owner, an approved timeline and measurable evidence of completion.
Pakistan has the institutional foundation and documented lessons needed to strengthen disaster coordination. Consistent execution must now connect warnings with local action, resources with verified needs and decisions with accountable delivery. Success will be measured by whether people can protect themselves in time and whether assistance reaches affected communities promptly, fairly and reliably.
About the Author: Malik Bilal is a policy expert whose work examines vulnerabilities affecting Pakistan’s national resilience, including climate risks, food security, livelihoods and sustainable development. He can be reached at malikbilal1983@gmail.com
