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2022 Pakistan floods

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2022 Pakistan floods
Map of areas impacted by flooding. The worst affected areas are in red.
Date14 June 2022 – present
LocationBalochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Southern parts of Punjab, Sindh, Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
CauseHeavy Monsoon Rains
Deaths1,003
320 – Sindh
260 – Balochistan
187 – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
184 – Punjab
41 – Azad Kashmir
15 – Gilgit-Baltistan
1 – Islamabad
802,583 – Animals[1]
Missing48,931 Peoples
Property damage$4.4 billion USD (unofficial estimates)[2]

Since June 2022, floods caused by monsoon rains and melting glaciers in Pakistan killed at least 1,003 people, including 340 children and six military officers in a helicopter crash and over 1,700 more were injured. It is the world's deadliest flood since 2017.[3][4][5][6] On 25 August, Pakistan declared a state of emergency because of the flooding.[1]

Background

In 2022, Pakistan received higher rain than usual. The province of Sindh received 784% higher rain than usual and Balochistan received 500% higher rain than normal.[7] Higher than average monsoon rains was also recorded in India and Bangladesh.[8] The Indian Ocean is one of the fastest warming regions in the world, warming by an average of 1C (as opposed to the global warming average of 0.7C).[8] The rise in sea surface temperatures is believed to increase monsoon rainfall.[9][8] In addition, southern Pakistan experienced back to back heat waves in May (the heatwaves were record setting and themselves made more likely by climate change[10]). These created a strong thermal low that brought heavier rains that usual.[9] The heatwaves also triggered glacial flooding in Gilgit Baltistan.[10]

Impact

Hundreds of people were killed or injured by flooding. Over 33 million people, around 12% of the country’s population have been displaced because of floods.[5] It is the deadliest floods in Pakistan since 2010, when nearly 2,000 died in flooding.[11]

Damaged houses district wise

Heavy monsoon rainfall and floods have affected 30 million people in Pakistan since mid-June, destroying nearly 218,000 houses and damaging some 452,000 more.[12][13] Sindh and Balochistan are the two most affected provinces in terms of human and infrastructural impact. Over 700,000 livestock have been killed, nearly all of them in Balochistan Province, while destruction to nearly 3,000 km of roads and 145 bridges have impeded access across flood-affected areas.[12] Over 17,560 schools were damaged or destroyed as well.[12] At the request of the Balochistan Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), a multisectoral rapid needs assessment was undertaken in 10 districts of Balochistan to identify priority needs and gaps across sectors. Humanitarian partners are supporting the Government-led response in affected areas, redirecting existing resources to meet the most urgent needs while working to further scale up the response.[citation needed]

File:ROAP Snapshot 220823 Ai.jpg
Asia and the Pacific: Weekly Regional Humanitarian Snapshot (16 – 22 August 2022)

Balochistan

Flooding in Balochistan killed 260 people.[3] In many areas, rainwater infiltrated many homes and made them uninhabitable. More than 300 families were displaced.[14][15][16] 50,000 houses have been either been damaged or completely destroyed, and 304,000 acres of crops were lost.[12][17]

According to the Relief Commissioner Provincial Disaster Management, Balochistan's capital Quetta has been declared a disaster area due to rains, and an emergency had been declared in the province.[18][19]

Sindh

At least 320 people have been killed and 701 have been injured by floods in Sindh.[3][20] And among the fatalities were three young children, who lost their lives when the roof of their house collapsed in Kandhkot.[20] 10 million people have been dislocated in Sindh and 57,496 houses were severely damaged or completely destroyed, mostly in the Hyderabad Division, and 830 cattle were killed.[20] 1.54 million acres of farmland had been swept away by the floods.[12]

Gilgit-Baltistan

Comparison of the Gilgit river before and after flooding. The area depicted is Canopy Nexus hotel on river view road Gilgit

Since July, a total of at least 15 people were killed and floods badly affected the Karakoram Highway. Roads were closed for traffic at several places due to landslides.[21][22] The districts of Ghizar, Nagar, Diamer, Ghanche and Astore were the worst affected, and roads, lands, bridges and water supply channels have been damaged due to floods and landslides.[23] Meanwhile, the S-1 Strategic Highway also suffered erosion due to high water flows in the Indus River. The Ishkoman Valley Road was cut off at Gutkash due to flooding in the Ishkoman River.[24] A bridge at Chhorbat in Ghanche District was also flooded. Valley roads and two bridges of Nagar District were swept away by floods.[25] There are also reports of damage in Khanar and Bonar in Diamer District.[26] As of 26 August, most parts of the villages in Ghizer were destroyed by the flood among these are Buber Valley, Gahkuch and Gulmuti. The residents were asked to evacuate the flood affected areas. River levels are rising to an extremely dangerous height.

Punjab

In Punjab a total of 184 people have lost their lives and 233 others suffered injuries in recent floods.[3][27][28] In Taunsa Sharif, many settlements were submerged in flood-water. In the historical town of Mangadotha, west of Taunsa Sharif, hundreds of houses and livestock were swept away by flood waters.[29] 178,000 acres of farmland were also lost.[12] Residents of communities adjacent to flooded rivers began to migrate, with most families moving away. Most of the families have moved to safer places with essential supplies on foot and camels as roads and bridges were washed away.[30][31]

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Since July, a total of at least 187 people have been killed and 320 others were injured by floods.[3] Among them were five children in Upper Dir District, who had been returning home from school, before they were swept away and eventually drowned by flooding.[32] In the Swat District, a newly built hotel had collapsed due to excessive flooding.[33] The southwestern part of the province was previously affected by an earthquake in neighbouring Afghanistan two months earlier.

Kashmir

At least 41 people were killed by flooding in Azad Kashmir.[3][28]

Response

  • China On 25 August spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in a statement said we express deep sympathies to the floods affected victims and offer sincere condolences to the families of the victims, the emergency humanitarian aid, including 25,000 tents and relief materials, is being dispatched forthwith while 4,000 tents, 50,000 blankets, 50,000 tarpaulins and other reserves provided by China under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’s (CPEC) social and people’s livelihood cooperation have been put into the frontline for relief. “Red Cross Society of China has already provided emergency cash assistance of $300,000 to the Pakistan Red Crescent Society.[37][38]
  • United Kingdom On 27 August, UK Government announced £1.5million flood support fund for Pakistan.[39][40]

Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has decided to spearhead the relief operation in the wake of massive floods, met international partners on 25 August who pledged to provide $500 million to the country to mitigate the havoc wreaked by flooding.[41]

Incident

A Pakistan Army Aviation helicopter, which was on flood relief operations in Lasbela area of Balochistan, lost contact with Air Traffic Control.[42][43][44][45]

The six military personnel, including Commander XII Corps Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali died in the crash.[46]

Reports from Pakistani authorities on their early investigations attributed the crash to poor weather conditions,[46] whereas Reuters reported on unverified claims from Baloch insurgency umbrella group Baloch Raaji Aajoi Sangar that they shot the helicopter down.[47]

See also

References

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  2. ^ "Floods to cause USD 4 billion loss to Pakistan's economy: Report". Economic Times. 27 August 2022. Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
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  8. ^ a b c Zoha Tunio (2 August 2022). "After Unprecedented Heatwaves, Monsoon Rains and the Worst Floods in Over a Century Devastate South Asia".
  9. ^ a b M Waqar Bhatti. "Climate change blamed for above normal rains in Sindh, Balochistan". The News International.
  10. ^ a b "Deadly heat wave in India and Pakistan was 30x more likely due to climate change, scientists say".
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  47. ^ Reuters (3 August 2022). "Pakistan insurgents claim downing army helicopter, killing six". Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)