Tsunamic deluges of monsoon rains have ravaged Pakistan once again. Floods have affected another 8 million people this year, while twenty million people are still struggling to cope with the devastation caused last year. While the scale of the disaster and the aid response is thought to be less than last year, the misery for those affected is just as real and the repercussions, much greater. Millions who were already displaced from last year’s floods have once again lost everything and now an additional 1.8 million face the same reality.
The floods began early last month but torrential rainfall has compounded them, cutting off many villages and making them inaccessible to government and relief workers. Over 2.8 million acres of agricultural land has been inundated, destroying over 80 percent of banana, dates, chilli, sugar cane and cotton crop (equivalent of 2.3 million bales).
Victims have lost over 120,000 cattle, while hundreds of thousands more livestock and poultry are at risk as water-borne diseases multiply. To make matters worse, the livestock that has survived might die of starvation as fodder has been washed away. The fate of fish farms has been similar, dealing another severe blow to thousands of livelihoods. That in turn gives rise to massive food shortage and food insecurity. The amount of time it will take to regain use of agricultural land will cost the economy greatly.
Despite several warnings from aid agencies about the possibility of floods this year, the Pakistani government was confident that they were prepared and were capable of handing the situation without the UN and other international organisations. As heavy rains struck Sindh in early August, the chairman of the NDMA, Zafar Iqbal Qadir insisted the organisation had the resources to manage the floods and therefore did not require international assistance.
Since donors sent funds directly to international organisations, the government appears unaware of where the money was spent. Although the international community pledged a total of $1.9 billion dollars for the 2010 floods, 67 percent of this amount ($1.3 billion) was released and only $400 million has been accounted for in documentation. Therefore, government agencies felt that they should not rely on international assistance. However, donors are unimpressed with the government’s aid appeal in a context where the elite is seen to evade taxes and money is spent on other ‘populist’ programs.
It is apparent that both the government and international agencies faced transparency and accountability challenges that curbed relief efforts last year. Other factors, including the socio-political and economic volatility in the country also had a negative impact. The government was not prepared to deal with such a disaster due to an inadequate disaster management system, poor emergency relief coordination and overlapping mandates of different organisations. A disaster management framework and policies are already in place but is important to transform them into effective management systems. In addition, clarity on the roles of government officials at the district, provincial and federal levels was urged by international agencies working on the ground who felt it would help prevent duplication.
Despite last year’s hurdles, the NDMA claimed to have a contingency plan for floods this year and yet were unable to organise efforts for the 750,000 people who became displaced after initial rains. Meanwhile, UN agencies remained on standby until the president’s visit to flood-hit areas last week when the UN and other agencies were asked to intervene. Nearly three weeks after the initial floods, PM Gilani appealed to the international community. As the UN launched a global appeal for $357 million to help flood victims, international donors have made it clear to the government that they will not step forward unless a transparent mechanism is set up in which all damages and losses are evaluated by a third party.
Given Pakistan’s current domestic fiscal crunch, it is unrealistic to expect that they would be able to respond to a disaster of this magnitude without any foreign assistance. Nevertheless, the government’s appeal for foreign aid was slammed by opposition parties who felt the government should utilise its own resources. However, they did not explain where the government would mobilise such emergency resources from domestically. The parties also condemned the government’s inability to adequately prepare for the floods. Such statements assume that the government has the capacity to deal with such situations yet when the first wave of floods hit, there was a realis ation by government authorities that the situation was out of their control. These factors highlight the need for a coherent policy on relief and rehab efforts so there is clarity amongst government and relief organizations about their roles and responsibilities during an emergency.
The NDMA has already spent over 1.5 billion rupees on relief efforts and this number will increase to 8 billion. To date, 2,923 relief camps have been set up by the NDMA that accommodate 625,293 men, women and children. In addition, thousands of tents and food ration packs are being distributed by the government and the UN has also begun its multi-million dollar humanitarian assistance program in Sindh along with other international organizations helping the government focus on issues related to health, hygiene, food security and water and sanitation as well as assisting with the distribution of emergency relief goods.
According to a statement issued by the NDMA, health, education and communication infrastructure has been substantially damaged in Sindh. 1.4 million houses have been destroyed, with nearly half a million in Badin alone. This does not include damage caused by the floods last year. One is forced to question whether the scale of the destruction could have been averted if the government had genuinely prepared for flooding this year. For instance, in low-lying parts of the world where flooding is routine, people build their homes on stilts or on large rafts moored securely to the shore. As the water rises, the home rises with it and when it recedes, the houses move back to the ground, making them more resilient to disasters like floods. This has been done in neighbouring countries like Bangladesh. It is a fairly “low tech” option that does not require heavy investment as houses can be made from straw, reeds, rushes, bamboos or jute-stalks.
The floods have already claimed over 300 lives, many of them women and children. The outbreak of disease along with food shortages means that the number of lives lost due to flooding is likely to increase. These institutional challenges must be resolved as soon as possible if the government wishes to avoid a repeat of last year as long term challenges lie ahead. It is already too late for the millions of people reliving this ordeal.
The writer works as Program Coordinator at the Jinnah Institute
informative and objective!
Comments are closed.