Beginning in early September, heavy monsoon rains and persistent flooding devastated many areas of southern Pakistan. At least 5.4 million people have been affected, of which nearly 2.7 million are children. More than 300,000 people were forced to leave their flooded homes in search of higher ground.
The survival of the children is very tough they have no food, shelter, or education. The damage to buildings is very high and there’s no hope for their future survival. Let’s take a look at the impact of floods on Pakistan’s economy and the plight of people affected by these natural calamities.
Flood impacts in 2010
The disaster comes hard on the heels of the 2010 floods, the worst in Pakistan’s history, Leaving thousands of families in a struggle for recovery. While many regions of the country affected by the 2010 floods were spared a similar fate in 2011, this was not the case for Sindh province, where significant damage was reported in 22 of the province’s 23 districts, and in 2022 the same districts are affected again due to floods.
Damages of Floods in Sindh and Northern areas
In Sindh, floodwaters devastated homes, businesses, and livestock, destroying livelihoods and undermining food security. At least 2.2 million acres of croplands were flooded, nearly 75% of crops in 16 districts were destroyed or damaged, and 36% of livestock were lost or sold. Families are now left without jobs or land to grow crops and are often unable to provide enough food for their children.
In northern areas, one of the main sources of income is the tourism industry which has now been completely eradicated due to flash floods. The region has widespread poverty although the rich class of the country is contributing to these dire situations some families have 10 or more children, making it difficult to contain starvation.
Heart-wrenching scenes at hospitals and refugee camps
The human toll of this disaster is hard to bear witness to children’s ward hospitals in Sindh filled with terrifyingly fragile children suffering from severe acute malnutrition; farmers with little hope for the future, having lost their crops for at least the entire season; confused families in refugee camps who don’t know when, if ever, they will be able to return to the lands they once called home.
How Pakistan faces the flood impacts
The rest of Pakistan while not underwater is still not immune to the devastation. Sindh is a key agricultural production area that other parts of the country rely on, a significant portion of fruits and vegetables come from these areas. Many farmers in Sindh will lose their entire harvest, undermining their ability to participate in the local economy and potentially increasing food prices locally and nationally.
The effects on the agriculture sector
For the individual farmer, it is difficult to overestimate the importance of crop loss. The loss of income could make it difficult, if not impossible, for farmers to afford the costs of renting land and equipment. With many farm workers working at little more than a living wage, the financial blow of a lost season is devastating, leaving some in debt and others out of work altogether. It can take a year or more for farmers to recover from this, especially if they took at the debt to cover potential flood losses – which many did.
Precautionary measures
Ultimately, these communities need to put a plan in place that will reduce the damage caused by future floods and help them bounce back faster; in short, there’s a need for a better disaster & risk mitigation strategy. This would include measures such as investment in disaster mitigation infrastructure, including:
- using waterproof building materials rather than mud bricks
- relocation of villages from the banks of rivers prone to flooding
- construction of overhead roads
- building suitable drainage systems
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The people of Pakistan are very kind-hearted. A few days ago, when this disaster happened, everyone generously helped the flood victims, educational institutes such as the University of South Asia also started a campaign and collected funds for the flood victims. But it cannot stop here, more of this needs to happen. Contribute and help provide necessities for the flood victims.
