Flood Affection in Pakistan

Number of Floods that occurred in Pakistan,

Dates are as followed:

 1950: The first flood in Pakistan. Monsoon rain in 1950 killed an

estimated 2,900 people across the country in the province of Punjab,
including the city of Lahore.

 August, 1955 and 1956: In August 1955/56, the monsoon rains

were particularly heavy.  With 20 major rivers rushing down the
Himalaya Mountains into the low-laying flood plains at the top of the
Bay of Bengal, the Indian states of Bihar and Assam, and areas of
East Pakistan were very hard hit.  Between 4 and 8 million people
were forced to flee the floodwaters in India alone. 

 August, 1973: After overflowing an embankment near Sukkur,

about 250 miles northeast of Karachi, the river inundated several
towns and hundreds of villages. Preliminary reports said that at least
2 million people in the region had been made homeless.
Reports from the previously stricken and most populous province,
Punjab, put the death toll there at 2,000, with many more reported
missing.
 1975-2012: Between the year 1975-2012, There have been
many floods due to which many people lost their homes and over
20,000 people died due to this occasion. Almost 6.7 trillion PKR or
30 billion USD.

 26 Jul-Sep, 2010: This Flood is also known as the worst flood in

the country’s history.

Flooding of the Indus River in Pakistan in late July and August

2010 that led to a humanitarian disaster considered to be one of the
worst in Pakistan’s history. The floods, which affected approximately 20
million people, destroyed homes, crops, and infrastructure and left
millions vulnerable to malnutrition and waterborne disease. Estimates of
the total number of people killed ranged from 1,200 to 2,200, while
approximately 1.6 million houses were damaged or destroyed, leaving an
estimated 14 million people without homes.

Record monsoon rains began to fall in Pakistan’s mountainous northwest

region about July 22, causing flash floods in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Balochistan provinces. The unprecedented
volume of rainwater overwhelmed flood defenses, sweeping away roads
and bridges and inundating large areas of land. By August 1 at least
1,000 people had been killed by flooding and at least 1,000,000 had
been forced from their homes. As the floodwaters surged downriver into
Balochistan and Sindh provinces in August, rain continued to fall in the
northwest. With one-fifth of Pakistan affected by mid-August, rescuers
and humanitarian aid workers struggled to reach victims stranded by
rising water and by extensive damage to roads and bridges.
14 June, 2022:

From 14 June to October 2022, floods in Pakistan killed 1,739 people, and

caused ₨ 3.2 trillion ($14.9 billion) of damage and ₨ 3.3 trillion ($15.2
billion) of economic losses. The immediate causes of the floods were heavier
than usual monsoon rains and melting glaciers that followed a severe heat
wave, both of which are linked to climate change.

The flooding was the world's deadliest flood since the 2020 South Asian

floods and described as the worst in the country's history. On 25 August,
Pakistan declared a state of emergency because of the flooding.

What is a flood?

A flood is an overflow of water beyond the normal limits of a watercourse. Flooding

occurs when water extends over what is usually dry land. This can happen when it
escapes from a natural watercourse, such as a lake, river or creek. It can also happen
when water is released from a reservoir, canal or dam.

There are two types of flooding, riverine and flash.

Riverine flooding is where rivers break their banks and water covers the surrounding
land. It's mostly caused by heavy rainfall, but can also be caused by king tides, storm
surge, snowmelt and dam releases.

Flash flooding occurs within six hours of rain falling. It can happen after a short
burst of heavy rain, such as from a thunderstorm.

Flash floods can be a serious problem in urban areas if drainage systems can't cope
and tend to affect a localized area.
 REASONS OF FLOODS

Heavy rainfall

The most common cause of riverine and flash flooding is heavy rainfall.

Rivers are formed over thousands of years. Every river is different and
forms in response to:

 the usual amount of local rainfall and runoff

 the local topography, vegetation and soil types.

These features stay relatively constant through time, with only rainfall
varying.

Rivers have a maximum capacity to carry water. More rainfall than

usual, creates more runoff than usual. This runoff can't be carried by
the river channel, so it spills out onto the land. When the time between
rainfall and flooding is longer than six hours, this is a riverine flood.

King tide

The term 'king tide' is widely used to describe an exceptionally high

tide. These tides are a natural and predictable part of the tidal cycle.
The time of year they occur varies by location and between years. They
can have very noticeable effects where the ocean meets the land at
beaches, estuaries, harbors and other coastal locations.
King tides can increase the impact and extent of riverine flooding.
Imagine a town near the coast that lies beside a coastal river. If the
river is in flood, parts of that town may be inundated. If the flood
occurs at the same time as a high king tide, floodwater will have less
opportunity to drain to the sea. More of that town is likely to be
flooded and to a higher level.

Storm surge

A storm surge is a rise above the normal seawater level along a shore
caused by a storm. The storm often brings strong onshore winds and
typically results from reduced atmospheric pressure. Storm surges
often accompany a tropical cyclone. Away from the tropics, storm
surge can occur due to an intense low pressure system.

Coastal flooding is likely during a storm surge. And if storm surge

combines with a riverine flood the area and extent of flooding can
increase.

Snowmelt

Snow can be thought of as a reservoir of water, waiting for enough

warmth to run down the hill. When conditions warm rapidly, snow
can melt quickly. When this happens it can release volumes of water
too great for the downstream river channels, causing riverine flooding.
Dam releases

Dams can hold vast amounts of water, but all dams have a capacity. If
a dam is close to capacity, dam operators may release water and
sometimes this can cause flooding. We work closely with dam operators
in times of flood to ensure they have the latest weather information.
Operators use this information to manage their dams in a way that
minimizes impacts on communities downstream.

Reasons of Flooding in Pakistan

The immediate causes of the floods were heavier than usual monsoon

rains and melting glaciers that followed a severe heat wave, both of
which are linked to climate change. The flooding was the world's
deadliest flood since the 2020 South Asian floods and described as the
worst in the country's history.

Pakistan has only 18 dams to store water, which is insufficient to deal

with the growing needs of citizens. A total of one million small and big
dams exist in the world which can store 83,000 cubic kilometer of
water. Out of the one million dams, about 59.7 percent are situated in
Asia, 21.1 percent in North America, 12.6 percent in Europe, 3.3
percent in Africa, two percent in South Africa and 1.3 percent are
found in Australia.
According to data available, around 50,000 dams have over 200 feet
height. China has more big dams than any other country in the world
with a total of 19,000 water reservoirs, the US stands at second while
neighboring India is at third with 4,000 dams.

Pakistan has only 18 water reservoirs and seven barrages to cater for
the agricultural and hydel power needs of the country. According to
reports, today Pakistan has only the one-fifth of the water that was
available in 1947, converting two million acres of agricultural land into
barren. Due to the lack of dams, annually 20 million acre feet of water
goes wasted in the country. The flow of river water is 145 million acre
feet and only 13 percent of it is stored while the growing population is
facing a severe shortage of the natural resource. On an average, 1040
cubic metre water is available for each Pakistani while the same was
5260 cubic meter in 1950 and according to reports it will reduce to
659 cubic metre by 2025.