The media is abuzz with news of the fake illness of Shahbaz Gill and the possible arrest of Imran Khan. The pitiful condition of the flood affectees in South Punjab and Balochistan has noticeably slipped from the headlines. The floods have claimed hundreds of precious lives and have caused mass destruction.
Although climate change is on the horizon, and Pakistan at the forefront of countries facing this calamity, still we are seemingly oblivious to the growing threat of environmental degradation. Pakistan has received over 60 percent of its total normal monsoon rainfall in three weeks. The month of July was the wettest, with 133 percent more rain than the average in 30 years.
In addition, the melting glaciers overflowing rivers, resurgence of strong monsoon currents and increased thunderstorms in August this year have affected areas in the south of Pakistan. River Chenab is currently in high flood. Rains are causing riverine flooding downstream that are inundating villages in Balochistan and southern Punjab. The flood-hit people are trapped under the open sky, waiting for aid from the government.
According to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), as of August 9, 2022, the severe weather conditions have resulted in deaths of at least 580 people, while 939 people have been injured. Nearly 23,000 people have reportedly been displaced from their homes – around 8,200 in Sindh, 7,000 in Balochistan, 4,700 in Punjab and 3,000 in KP.
Some 107,000 livestock (including some 29,000 large ruminants) have perished as a result of the floods, according to the NDMA. The standing cotton crop over thousands of acres has also been destroyed; hundreds of tube wells uprooted thus affecting both crop and livestock farming which is the main source of livelihood in the region.
Floodwaters and debris flows have also blocked bridges, rail networks and roadways, restricting overland travel in and around affected areas. Since June 14, 2022, some 50,000 houses have reportedly been damaged, including around 10,500 completely, as have 3,000 kilometres of road, 42 shops and 119 bridges. This has cut off many small villages from each other and the main cities, and many rescue teams have not been able to reach the flood-hit areas due to a lack of land connectivity.
And this is not all. The immediate health impacts of floods include drowning, hypothermia, and animal bites. This will be followed by acute respiratory tract infections, malaria, skin infections and typhoid, among others. These diseases will become difficult to contain as even the few and scattered rural health facilities have been washed away by the torrential rains.
Pakistan is ranked eighth among countries most vulnerable to climate crises despite contributing less than one percent to global carbon emissions, according to the Climate Change Risk Index 2021. And according to a report in the Nature magazine, the risk of flood increases with climate change shifting from moderate floods to extreme floods. Hence, floods were expected in the monsoon season, and the Met office did issue warnings and inform the concerned authorities, but no pre-arrangements were made to deal with emergency situation. The provincial governments have failed badly. The rescue response has been slow, with people turning to social media, pleading for relief and sharing videos of their predicament. The government has been talking about big action plans for helping people but little groundwork can be seen. People are stranded in waist high waters, and if it had not been for local and international agencies that are sending in their own volunteers, the death toll would have been much higher.
Some government officials have said that the floods have been unprecedented this year, and that they were not prepared for such a serious calamity. In some places, assistance has been provided but has turned out to be of little use. The authorities provided tents and food parcels, but there is no dry place to put the tents, no place to cook the food, as the floods have washed away everything these people owned from their homes to their livestock. Many people also claim that they did not receive flood warnings in advance.
South Punjab and Balochistan have been victims of ignorance, with poor endowment of social services as well as provincial and development allocations in the past. We are seeing the same disregard at the moment. It is high time the state steps up and realigns its priorities for the peoples’ welfare.
Although climate change is on the horizon, and Pakistan at the forefront of countries facing this calamity, still we are seemingly oblivious to the growing threat of environmental degradation. Pakistan has received over 60 percent of its total normal monsoon rainfall in three weeks. The month of July was the wettest, with 133 percent more rain than the average in 30 years.
In addition, the melting glaciers overflowing rivers, resurgence of strong monsoon currents and increased thunderstorms in August this year have affected areas in the south of Pakistan. River Chenab is currently in high flood. Rains are causing riverine flooding downstream that are inundating villages in Balochistan and southern Punjab. The flood-hit people are trapped under the open sky, waiting for aid from the government.
According to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), as of August 9, 2022, the severe weather conditions have resulted in deaths of at least 580 people, while 939 people have been injured. Nearly 23,000 people have reportedly been displaced from their homes – around 8,200 in Sindh, 7,000 in Balochistan, 4,700 in Punjab and 3,000 in KP.
Some 107,000 livestock (including some 29,000 large ruminants) have perished as a result of the floods, according to the NDMA. The standing cotton crop over thousands of acres has also been destroyed; hundreds of tube wells uprooted thus affecting both crop and livestock farming which is the main source of livelihood in the region.
South Punjab and Balochistan have been victims of ignorance, with poor endowment of social services as well as provincial and development allocations in the past. We are seeing the same disregard at the moment. It is high time the state steps up and realigns its priorities for the peoples’ welfare.
Floodwaters and debris flows have also blocked bridges, rail networks and roadways, restricting overland travel in and around affected areas. Since June 14, 2022, some 50,000 houses have reportedly been damaged, including around 10,500 completely, as have 3,000 kilometres of road, 42 shops and 119 bridges. This has cut off many small villages from each other and the main cities, and many rescue teams have not been able to reach the flood-hit areas due to a lack of land connectivity.
And this is not all. The immediate health impacts of floods include drowning, hypothermia, and animal bites. This will be followed by acute respiratory tract infections, malaria, skin infections and typhoid, among others. These diseases will become difficult to contain as even the few and scattered rural health facilities have been washed away by the torrential rains.
Pakistan is ranked eighth among countries most vulnerable to climate crises despite contributing less than one percent to global carbon emissions, according to the Climate Change Risk Index 2021. And according to a report in the Nature magazine, the risk of flood increases with climate change shifting from moderate floods to extreme floods. Hence, floods were expected in the monsoon season, and the Met office did issue warnings and inform the concerned authorities, but no pre-arrangements were made to deal with emergency situation. The provincial governments have failed badly. The rescue response has been slow, with people turning to social media, pleading for relief and sharing videos of their predicament. The government has been talking about big action plans for helping people but little groundwork can be seen. People are stranded in waist high waters, and if it had not been for local and international agencies that are sending in their own volunteers, the death toll would have been much higher.
Some government officials have said that the floods have been unprecedented this year, and that they were not prepared for such a serious calamity. In some places, assistance has been provided but has turned out to be of little use. The authorities provided tents and food parcels, but there is no dry place to put the tents, no place to cook the food, as the floods have washed away everything these people owned from their homes to their livestock. Many people also claim that they did not receive flood warnings in advance.
South Punjab and Balochistan have been victims of ignorance, with poor endowment of social services as well as provincial and development allocations in the past. We are seeing the same disregard at the moment. It is high time the state steps up and realigns its priorities for the peoples’ welfare.