Abstract

Pakistan’s approach to disaster management has improved much since the initial challenges faced following the 2005 earthquake. The threats posed by natural catastrophes are intensifying. As a consequence, the volume of effort in the field of disaster management has been accelerating, mainly in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). DRR concentrates on pre-disaster actions. In current years, vulnerable groups have had to endure the impact of the hazards. Sialkot District in Punjab province of Pakistan has experienced more recurrent floods in these years. In This article, the implementation phenomenon of Disaster Risk Reduction policy, particularly in the areas of Early Warning, Building Codes and Awareness Campaigns at district level has been studied. The losses caused by floods in Sialkot during 2013 and 2014 have been compared in order to specify whether successful DRR practices are minimizing the impacts of flood disaster or not. The losses trend indicates that current DRR practices are not satisfactory especially at the district level and more efforts are required to strengthen the vulnerable communities in pre and post-disaster situations.