ASSIGNMENT

SUB: PAKISTAN STUDY

TOPIC: FLOOD WATER
MANAGEMENT
ROLL NO#23CH024
GENERAL:

By and large, prevention of floods is a universally known substantial

impracticality; however, protection from floods and their management is viable
and is of vital inevitability. The fury of floods can be harnessed to safeguard
human life and property through proper planning and effective management of
available resources. Devoid of their destructive influence, excellent floods
control activities provide and ensure water resource availability for the welfare
of community by way of conservation and careful use during lean periods.
FLOOD PROBLEMS IN
GENERAL PERSPECTIVE:
IT IS RECOGNIZED WORLD OVER THAT FLOODS ARE THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE OF
NATURAL HAZARDS AND THE GREATEST CAUSE OF LARGE-SCALE DAMAGES TO LIVES
AND PROPERTY. OVER THE YEARS, MAJOR FLOODS HAVE OCCURRED IN ALMOST ALL
THE SOUTH ASIAN COUNTRIES, CAUSING HUGE LOSS OF LIFE AND PROPERTY. DESPITE
THE INVESTMENT OF MILLIONS, EVEN BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN EFFORTS TO TAME THE
RIVERS OF THE REGION, THE FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE OF MAJOR FLOOD
DISASTERS HAS ACTUALLY INCREASED OVER THE PAST 25 TO 30 YEARS.
CONSEQUENTLY THERE IS A GROWING CONSENSUS THAT THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE
CHANGE MAY WELL LEAD TO AN INCREASE IN BOTH THE FREQUENCY AND THE
MAGNITUDE OF FLOODS. NEVERTHELESS MANKIND HAS TO LIVE WITH THE FLOODS
AND DEVISE MEASURES TO BETTER MANAGE THEM TO MINIMIZE THE LOSSES AND
 FLOODS IN PAKISTAN

SIXTEEN MAJOR FLOODS THAT HAVE HIT THE COUNTRY SINCE 1947 CAUSED
ECONOMIC LOSSES AND DAMAGES ESTIMATED AS US$ 6 BILLION. RECORDED
FLOOD PEAK DISCHARGES BETWEEN 1922 AND 1992, FLOODS OF VARIOUS
MAGNITUDES OCCURRED. THESE FLOODS AFFECTED THE BASINS OF THE RIVERS
IN PUNJAB AND SINDH. IN NWFP, BALOCHISTAN AND SOME AREAS OF PUNJAB
ALSO, DAMAGE IS CAUSED MAINLY FROM HILL TORRENTS IN WHICH RAINS
GENERATE FLASH FLOODS IN MONSOON SEASON
THE INDUS RIVER
THE INDUS RIVER FLOWS ON A RIDGE IN SINDH PROVINCE, AND SURROUNDING AREAS ARE
GENERALLY LOWER THAN THE RIVERBED. HENCE, WATER ONCE SPILLING OVER THE BUNDS
DOES NOT RETURN BACK. ESCAPED WATER THUS CAUSES GREATER DAMAGE TO WIDESPREAD
AREAS, AND IT PERSISTS FOR A LONGER PERIOD EVEN AFTER THE FLOOD PEAKS ARE OVER.
SINDH IS SITUATED ON A RECEIVING END OF DRAINAGE OF ALL THE RIVERS AND IF FLOOD
PROTECTION MEASURES ADOPTED IN THE UPPER REACHES ARE NOT PROPERLY PLANNED,
SEVERE DAMAGES ARE LIKELY TO OCCUR IN THE PROVINCE. TO MINIMIZE SUCH
EVENTUALITIES, DOUBLE LINE OF FLOOD EMBANKMENTS HAS BEEN CONSTRUCTED ALONG
ALMOST BOTH THE BANKS IN SINDH FROM GUDDU BARRAGE TO FEW KILOMETERS SHORT OF
ARABIAN SEA. THE EMBANKMENTS ARE OFTEN THREATENED BY ACTIVE EROSION BY THE
RIVER FLOWS AND DUE TO POOR SOILS IN SOME REACHES. THE EMBANKMENTS HAVE BEEN
FURTHER COMPARTMENTALIZED TO CONTAIN WIDESPREAD INUNDATION