Due to the current flood situation in Pakistan, we have lost 1,033 lives and have 1,527 people badly injured. The estimated number of people affected by the flood is around 30 million, and around 1 million houses are totally or partially damaged leaving behind millions in need of urgent shelter.
The floods caused by the monsoon rains since mid-June 2022 have affected many areas of Balochistan, Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Punjab, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) provinces of Pakistan.
Are we facing these huge numbers because it is a natural disaster? Or are we facing it because every year no government plays its role to mitigate this inevitable natural disaster?
Keeping in view the current flood situation in Pakistan, if we apply the following techniques by next year’s monsoon, we can mitigate the flood effect
- Levees
- Seawalls
- Tide gates
- Pump stations
- Dams
Levees
Levees are man-made structures situated along waterways, streams, brooks, feeders, lakes, and on the coast. These designs safeguard encompassing regions from specific degrees of flooding; when this level is surpassed levees can be overtopped. Levees are constructed lined up with streams to hold them back from flooding the land. Land behind levees is yet liable to flooding from streams as these designs can fall flat or be overtopped relying on the flood situation.
Seawalls
The purpose of seawalls is to shield the area behind them from storm surges and wave activity. They are erected parallel to shorelines. Seawalls are often built between the transition from the beach to the mainland and are formed of concrete, masonry, or sheet piling. Individuals can erect seawalls to defend their properties, or towns might erect seawalls that cover acres of land property. The length of these structures and the number of properties they defend also vary.
Tide gates
During high tides, tide gates open to prevent backflow. Tide gates are often installed where rivers, streams, and other waterways converge with the ocean. Installing a tide gate on the downstream end of a culvert is the most typical way for one to function. Due to variations in water levels at the culvert’s upstream and downstream ends, the tide gate then opens or closes.
Pump stations
Pumping stations help to lessen runoff and tidal floods. The amount of standing water in low-lying places is decreased by a pump station. Pump stations can also be used in tandem with levees and other flood barriers to provide extra capacity to move water that floods the dry side during storms. They are positioned in places where water cannot be removed by gravity alone; instead, a pump station’s power is required. To remove the water swiftly and effectively from drainage pipes and prevent system overload and flooding, pump stations are connected to drainage systems.
Dams
Dams provide flood control and serve many other purposes: water storage, recreation, navigation, electrical generation, and irrigation. Flood control dams keep floodwaters impounded and either release floodwaters in controlled amounts downstream to the river below or store or divert water for other uses.
