2010 Pakistan Floods

A Case Study

Introduction

The Pakistan Floods that began on the 29th July as a result of unusually heavy monsoon rains. The flooding has resulted in an estimated 1,600 deaths, and has also affected another 12 million people in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces, and 2 Million in Sindh according to the United Nations. The floods have submerged entire provinces and left many homeless. The following is a diagram illustrating the affected areas.

Causes

The floods have been mainly attributed to monsoon patterns and heavy rainfall, there are also other factors that could have played a part in the severity of the floods. Climate change and deforestation could possibly have attributed to the severity of the floods as well.

Rainfall

Pakistan’s climate varies from temperate to tropical with rainfall of ranging from less than 10 inches to about 150 inches a year in various regions. However, of its total rainfall, about half of it falls between July to September, the monsoon season which causes intense rainfall, which regularly results in the floods in low lying areas.

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According to statistics from NASA (as shown below), it was shown that there was clearly more rainfall in the July-August period of 2010 than 2009, thus it can be said that precipitation was too intense for infiltration to occur, thus resulting in a massive increase of overland flow, which resulted in widespread flooding.

DeforestationPakistan is known to have the one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, with only about 5% of its area occupied by forest due to excessive

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timber harvesting. Thus, due to the lack of vegetation to intercept the precipitation over the area, hydrological processes such as percolation, infiltration and soil saturation are hindered, causing an overall increase in storm flow and the overflowing of surface storages, which contributed to the floods.

Impacts

Economic

The floods have not only caused widespread damage to peoples home and wiped out entire villages, but also caused extensive damage to roads, buildings and irrigation works. The United Nations have estimated that the cost of rebuilding the country’s damaged infrastructure will cost billions of dollars.

In addition to that, the mainstay of Pakistan’s economy, agriculture, has been heavily affected by the floods with 500, 000 tones of wheat lost, and another 2 million out of a targeted 14 million bales of cotton have been lost. It’s textile industry accounts for about 60% of its exports. With all that missing cotton, Pakistan will have to incur additional cost to import cotton to feed the industry’s needs.

With rebuilding cost and revenue lost due to the damage, Pakistan’s economy is bound to be in ruins.

Political

Although the Pakistani government is in no immediate danger of being brought down, they are still facing the threat of being destabilized as unhappiness brought on by economic problems, living conditions, rising transport and food cost, all of which could spark on public anger. In addition to that, the current situation in the country is favorable for radical terror groups, especially the Taliban, to gain support by providing aid and winning over public support.

With all these factors, the Government is under pressure to address current problems caused by the flood or be faced by an increasing onslaught of criticism and possible destabilization.

Social

The floods have left millions homeless and broke, with many living in temporary shelters. With tons of agricultural resources being wiped out, food shortages are becoming a main concern and so are food riots. In addition to that, according to a report by The Guardian, there is already a threat of social unrest as various factions; families and ethnic groups compete with each other in an event of a breakdown in government.

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Looting and lawlessness have also been reported in many provinces as aid trickles in and people’s desperation grow amidst the threats of diseases such as cholera, malaria and malnutrition.

Disaster Mitigation

Disaster management in Pakistan basically revolves around flood disasters with a primary focus on rescue and relief. After each disaster episode the government incurs considerable expenditure directed at rescue, relief and rehabilitation.

However there is an absence in a central body that deals with disaster prevention, management and mitigation according to a report by the United Nations Department for International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. In addition to that, national efforts directed at its water crisis are mainly focused on dealing with the problems the country faces with water shortages and droughts rather than floods. This is despite the fact that there have been several floods that have affected the nation in the past century.

International Aid

According to a study carried out by Oxfam, the Pakistan Floods have attracted considerably less financial resources compared to disasters that have occurred on a similar scale. Analysts in Pakistan have suggested the reason may be the country's recent image as a haven for radical Islamists.

In addition to that, Taliban insurgents in Pakistan have also threatened to hijack foreign aid attempts in Pakistan, deterring many aid agencies from sending much needed aid workers to Pakistan.

Conclusion

The Floods have been an important lesson to many organizations worldwide and in Pakistan for the need of proper prevention, management and mitigation measures, climate change and the importance of managing hydrological resources and constructing adequate drainage infrastructure and the need for vegetation.

Hopefully, there will be proper measures put in place to deal with future disasters should they take place in Pakistan.

Sources

1. United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction- http://www.unisdr.org/eng/country-inform/reports/Pakistan-report.pdf

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2. BBC - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special_reports/pakistan_floods/

3. The Guardian- http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/sep/05/commodities-food-drink-industry

4. Planet Forward- http://planetforward.ca/blog/pakistan-flooding-and-the-environmental-impact-that-may-follow/

5. American Institute of Pakistan Studies- http://www.pakistanstudies-aips.org/pakistan/geography/index.html

6. Oxfam- http://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam_in_action/emergencies/pakistan-floods2010.html?intcmp=homepage_pakistan_floods_more

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