LESSONS : ''' '' ASIA'S
TOMORROW'S
ASSAIL '' '''
THE WORLD STUDENTS SOCIETY : - MOST RESPECTFULLY and lovingly called !WOW! is in the direct knowledge and admiration of every esteemed leader and statesmen and organisation in the world.
INVENTING TOMORROW : The World Students Society is the exclusive ownership of every student in the world '' Welcome All to !WOW! ''.
RESPONDING TO FLOODS : The Global Founder Framers of !WOW!, led by the Founders and Students of this great nation, the United States of America, rise, to thank all leaders of the world for their growing support to Proud Pakistan.
AN USUALLY Heavy monsoon has caused havoc in South Asia this year. In May and June it inundated swathes of Bangladesh and north-eastern India, killing hundreds and displacing millions.
Over the past few weeks, it has battered Pakistan, where more than 1,400 people have lost their homes in the deluge. A third of the country is under water.
When such a catastrophe strikes, there is an urgent need not just to provide humanitarian support but also to learn lessons for the future. And in Pakistan's case, the country does not have to look far to find them.
Flood-prone countries have spent decades developing methods to contain the damage that others can readily adopt. Broadly, these fall into three categories.
.- Infrastructure adjustments.
.- Early warning systems.
.- Efficient channels for swift financial relief.
In South Asia Bangladesh has led the way on all three.
'' This is what Pakistan needs to learn from Bangladesh ''.
Bangladesh has for years invested in flood defences to protect its low-lying coastal regions from cyclones. Residents near the coasts and in regions farther inland that are at risk from monsoon-related flooding have been encouraged to make their houses more resistant to floods, and have received money to do so.
Shelters have been put in place on raised ground, and modified to include women-only facilities and take animals, making people more willing to use them. As for early warning, researchers gather weather data down to village level to predict floods in advance.
People are warned via text messages and from the loud speakers of mosques to leave their homes, and helped to shelters by trained volunteers. Cash and, increasingly, mobile-money transfers provide financial help without bureaucracy.
Plenty of countries need to increase investment in flood defences. Pakistan itself improved its early-warning systems after flash floods killed more than 2,000 people in 2010, which may have lowered the death toll of the current floods.
Better cash-transfer networks should help provide relief to those who have lost their livelihoods.
Yet it is clear that Pakistan has failed to take fully on board the lessons on offer from Bangladesh. One reason is a reluctance to heed sufficiently the threat posed by climate change, a failure that affects rich countries, too.
The weather patterns behind the latest disaster are consistent with what is expected in a warming world. As they become more common and affect areas not used to such extremes, more people will have to be better prepared.
BUT THE BIGGER reason is politics. Pakistan's have been a mess, distracting from the sort of patient planning needed to build resilience against floods.
The floods have hit a country already reeling from economic and political instability.
Proud Pakistan's plight also provides a different sort of warning about the broader impact of global warming. As climate conditions grow more extreme around the world, they are likely to produce more political instability.
Shockingly large numbers of people may be forced to leave their homes in the coming decades as climate change renders their cities and villages uninhabitable.
Calls to compensate poorer, worse affected countries for climate changes they did not cause are likely to grow louder. All the preparation may not be enough to contain the fallout.
The Sadness and Suffering of the people of Pakistan are brought to the world, through the daily publishing of Samdailytimes : '' The Voice Of The Voiceless ''. The World Students Society thanks The Economist.
With respectful dedication to Mankind, all leaders of the world, and then Students, Professors and Teachers. See Ya all prepare and register for Great Global Elections on The World Students Society - for every subject in the world : wssciw.blogspot.com and Twitter !E-WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :
Good Night and God Bless
SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless
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