Provincial Minister for Disaster Management Mian Khalid Mehmood visited the warehouse of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority at Jallo Road Lahore on monday to inspect the preparedness in the wake of a possible monsoon flood. DG PDMA Raja Mansoor apprised the minister that all the arrangements are ready to deal with any possible threat of flood in the province. Every sort of equipment is ready including procurement of machinery for disposal of rainwater and provision of rescue services during the flood. Planning has already been made to deal with the floods in cities and PDMA is continuously monitoring all the sensitive spots along with holding mock exercises in the districts, he added. While giving a briefing to the media, the minister said the meteorological department has not predicted unusual rains in monsoon this year but foretold some sort of threat of flood in rural areas. Similarly, a flood-like situation could also arise in cities, he added. He said machinery has been provided to district offices and line departments for the disposal of rainwater. Similarly, stock of motorboats, life jackets and tubes are also available. According to the available information, the flow of water in rivers is less than average but a flood-like situation could arise due to a sudden increase in the mass of water in the Chenab, Jhelum and Ravi rivers, he said. The PDMA has completed all arrangements and is also in contact with other line departments, he added. The minister said the material available in the warehouse is in addition to the equipment already given to the administration in Punjab. Similarly, the army also has the PDMA’s material. Replying to the question, the minister expressed satisfaction over the performance of PDMA adding that the authority has worked round the clock to overcome smog, locust attack, coronavirus and floods during the last three years. The government gives two billion rupees to PDMA every year and the PTI government is also providing additional funds to deal with the emergent situation, he stated. He further said the audit is regularly held every year and all the procurement has been made transparently during the last three years and no compromise is made over the quality and quantity of material. To another question, he clarified that edibles will be procured if needed but the met department has not predicted this kind of situation anywhere in the province.