ISLAMABAD: Rows of giant digital dashboards flicker across the hall with satellite imagery, AI projections and charts inside the nerve center of Pakistan’s disaster management authority, where officials are busy monitoring key data as the erratic monsoon season threatens to wreak havoc.
This is the usual scene at the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC), a central coordination hub operated by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in Pakistan’s capital. The NEOC monitors early warning systems and coordinates multi-agency responses to natural disasters in Pakistan.
Pakistan has increasingly opted to anticipate and prepare for natural disasters rather than be caught unawares by them. This shift was brought about by the cataclysmic floods of 2022, when heavy monsoon showers triggered flash floods across the country. These floods killed over 1,730 people and submerged a third of the country at one point in time.
Officials warn the 2026 monsoon season shaped by El Nino, a climate pattern that warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, will bring worldwide changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns. Pakistan is no different, NDMA officials say, fearing the South Asian nation will be exposed to simultaneous floods and droughts in various regions this monsoon season.
“The northern areas, they are going to receive above-average precipitation, or rainfall as compared to last year,” Zahra Hassan, executive director of technical early warning at the NEOC, told Arab News. “And the plains of Pakistan, like Punjab, Sindh, and Balochistan, they are going to experience higher temperature as compared to the last year.”
The center relies on a multi-tiered mechanism to issue long-range, mid-term, and immediate alerts. Experts inside the facility continuously monitor key waterways in the north, including the Shyok, Hunza, and Ghizer rivers which are expected to witness higher river flows in the coming months.
Meanwhile, the southern plains face severe agricultural stress as prolonged exposure to higher temperatures threatens food security and crop phenological stages.
To map these transboundary climate threats, Pakistan pulls data from more than 400 satellite constellations, including NASA, European, Chinese, and domestic systems. Climatologists and AI experts then translate this data into actionable intelligence, Zahra said, pointing to a giant dashboard featuring data.
To ensure the high-tech data triggers rapid local action, the NDMA has synchronized its tracking tools with local administrations across all four provinces.
UNMANNED TECH, RELIEF SUPPLIES
Hassan Raza, who is the manager of operations at NDMA, said the authority has issued its plans for the monsoon season. He added that provinces and Islamabad have formulated their respective local plans to deal with heavy rains and resulting disasters as well.
“We have prepared these plans in light of disaster early warnings, focusing primarily on areas where disasters are likely to hit,” Raza explained.
He said emergency assets and 17 basic relief items have been pre-positioned in high-risk zones to avoid transit delays if disaster strikes.
The pre-positioned inventory ensures that vulnerable communities can access vital materials immediately without having to wait for transportation from central warehouses during a crisis.
“For the first time, we have provided modern technology like drones and helicopters for these areas,” Raza said. He added that unmanned technology will be used both for surveillance and dropping essential items to disaster-affected people.
Both surveillance and specialized relief drones have already been bought directly by provincial and district-level authorities.
When a threat is detected, alerts are blasted to 83 entities, including non-governmental organizations and provincial disaster management authorities. The NDMA app broadcasts audio warnings in eight regional languages, while local networks will make announcements through mosques and churches to reach vulnerable communities, Raza said.
Raza said the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, which is expected to be the most severely hit area alongside other northern regions by the monsoon showers, has established a “strong network” for action.
“The KP government has listed people down to the union council and numberdar (village headman) level and connected them with us online,” he explained.
