VZCZCXRO3316
OO RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHLH RUEHPW
DE RUEHIL #2919/01 1860639
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 050639Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0227
INFO RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT PRIORITY 2686
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RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 002919 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
AID/ANE FOR: NMADHAV, RSTEELMAN 
AID/OFDA FOR: RTHAYER, TDOLAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PGOV PK
SUBJECT: SITUATION REPORT #1 - CYCLONE YEMYIN 
 
¶1.  (U) On Monday, July 2, 2007 Major General Farooq 
Ahmad Khan, Chairman of the Pakistan National Disaster 
Management Authority (NDMA) held a meeting with the 
donor and diplomatic community to provide a briefing 
on the impact of the recent cyclone, what the 
Government of PakistanQs (GOP) response is, and 
discuss next steps. 
 
¶2.  (U) The NDMA has established a website, 
http://www.ndma.gov.pk, which will be the official 
source of information to the donor community on the 
cyclone and its aftermath.  The website will include 
MAJ GEN FarooqQs presentation. 
 
¶3.  (U) MAJ GEN Farooq informed the donor and 
diplomatic community that the GOP and the NDMA had 
done a good job in managing the impact of the cyclone, 
but that international support from the Qfriends of 
PakistanQ was needed and desired in the form of cash, 
medicines, and water purification supplies. 
 
¶4.  (U) The NDMA through its early warning system had 
limited the number of people killed in the cyclone. 
This included warning people in coastal area of the 
incoming storm and in notifying fishermen and 
preventing them from going to sea.  Given the 
magnitude of the storm, only approximately 225 people 
died.  If the NDMA had not acted decisively the number 
of deaths would have been much greater. 
 
¶5.  (U) Since the storm the NDMA has established five 
logistical centers that are using military assets to 
deliver needed supplies by both air and road.  The GOP 
has provided 200 million Rupees (approximately USD 
3.33 million) to relief operations so far.  GOP has 
sent two army brigades to Balochistan to supervise the 
relief effort and to keep civil order.  To date the 
Army has provided 41 C-130 sorties delivering 80,000 
KG of food to Balochistan and 150,000 KG of food to 
Sindh.  The Army has also provided 12,000 tents and is 
purchasing an additional 100,000. 
 
¶6. (U) Balochistan suffered significant damage to its 
infrastructure.  The main highway between Wad and Bela 
has been severely damaged.  In addition, the Gawadar 
and Lasbella highway, known as the coastal highway, 
has been breeched at several points, with bridges 
being washed away.  The Iranian Ambassador in a Q&A 
session after the presentation mentioned that roads 
have been washed away on both the Iranian and 
Balochistan side of the border at four of the five 
entry points.  The only useable point of entry is at 
Tafton.  Several water embankments in the Quetta area 
failed and these caused major damage.  However, MAJ 
GEN Farooq mentioned that the Mirani Dam held, which 
prevented significant damage.  There was no major 
infrastructure damage in Sindh and the Army has not 
deployed significant numbers there. 
 
¶7.  (U) The GOP intends to establish a Disaster 
Management Fund, where donors can contribute cash and 
in-kind.  (COMMENT: Creation of the fund was a 
recommendation made by USAIDQs Office of Foreign 
Disaster Assistance (OFDA) based on lessons learned 
from previous disaster and emergency relief 
 
ISLAMABAD 00002919  002 OF 002 
 
 
experience.  END COMMENT.)  When asked if the United 
Nations could receive donor contributions for the 
Fund, Farooq replied that the decision to do this had 
not yet been made.  NDMA intends to undertake damage 
assessments and is inviting donor participation in 
these assessments.  It intends to adapt the UN cluster 
approach to identifying damage done to different 
sectors, e.g. health and education, in forming its own 
clusters.  Details of this approach still need to be 
worked out.  Updates and progress of relief activities 
will be posted on NDMAQs website. 
 
¶8.  (U) MAJ GEN Farooq cautioned that another major 
weather system is approaching Pakistan this week, 
which will also have a potentially serious impact on 
the cyclone-affected regions. 
 
 
Patterson