Chitral lacks early warning system; local communities at risk.

ISLAMABAD -- The erstwhile princely state of Chitral now the district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Malakand Division lacks any early warning system in the entire district to aware the local communities about impending disasters.

A Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa official told reporter that there were seven sites bearing early warning systems installed at the river banks and nullahs of the province to monitor the water flows by the Irrigation Department.

However, there was no other such system installed to generate data, alerts and start monitoring of surging glaciers or landslides to keep the local masses informed about the imminent disaster.

'PDMA has proposed 27 sites in the annual development plan where the Irrigation Department will act as the implementing partner to get early warning systems in the vulnerable hilly areas of the province,' he added.

Rehana, a local resident told reporter that due to no early warning system in the Chitral valley, the local life was at a standstill as during critical weather conditions, landslides and avalanches there was no in time intimation about the disaster.

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