Steven Smith

Location:

Pakistan is located in Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India on the east and Iran and Afghanistan on the west and China in the north.

Pakistan Demographics

• Population

187,342,721 (July 2011 est.)• Birth rate

24.81 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)• Death rate

6.92 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)

Provinces of Pakistan

Pakistan comprises of four provinces, i.e. Baluchistan, NWFP, Punjab and Sindh.

Each province have their distinct culture, languages and dresses mainly because of the varying geography, climate and influence of adjoining areas.

Punjab is the largest in terms of population. Baluchistan occupies the largest land mass. Sindh has the sea, Indus and the deserts of Thar. NWFP has the majestic mountains, including dozens of peaks over 25,000 feet.

BackgroundThe Pakistan floods began on the 29th July 2010.

Floods occurred as a result of unusually heavy monsoon rains.

1600 deaths. Affected 12 million people in the Punjab and

Baluchistan provinces.Affected 2 million people in the Sindh province.

(United Nations Figures)

•The floods have submerged entire provinces and left many homeless. The following diagram illustrates the affected areas within Pakistan.

From the picture of Pakistan and the flood affected zones, it is clear that the populations on the banks of the Indus River were severely affected the most. The red areas show where there was the most extensive damaged.

The Indus river runs directly through the centre of Pakistan from the south to the north border. The map shows the flooded districts are situated next to the Indus river.

Major Causes 1) Monsoon patterns and heavy rainfall. 2) Climate Change.3) Deforestation. (Physical Factors)4) United Nations department for international

disaster strategy reduction.5) Taliban. (Human Factors)

Pakistan Rainfall Pakistan’s climate varies from temperate to tropical with rainfall ranging from less than 10 inches to about 150 inches a year in various regions.

Half of the Pakistan's rain falls between July and September (monsoon season) which causes intense rainfall resulting in flooding each year.

Heavy monsoon rainfalls of more than 200 millimetres (7.9 in) were recorded during the four day wet spell from 27 July to 30 July 2010 in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab based on data from the Pakistan Meteorological Department.

Monsoon Rainfall Diagram.

NASA Statistics According to the statistics from NASA it was shown that there was clearly more rainfall in July to August period of 2010 than 2009.

From the results it can be said that the precipitation was too intense for infiltration to occur.

As a result there was a massive increase in overland flow, which caused wide spread flooding.

Deforestation Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a non forest use.

• Pakistan is known to have one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world.

• Only 5% of Pakistan is now occupied by forest due to excessive timber harvesting.

•Due to the lack of vegetation to intercept the precipitation, flooding occurred.

•Hydrological processes such as percolation, infiltration and soil saturation are hindered causing an increase in storm flow and the overflowing of surface storages which contributed to floods.

United Nations department for international strategy& The Taliban.

United Nations department for international strategy for disaster reduction focused on water supply and food drought rather than the defences against the floods knowing that previous floods have had massive negative effects in Pakistan.

The Taliban threatened to hijack foreign aid attempts in Pakistan and as a result less aid workers came to Pakistan to provide the required help.

EFFECTS

Social Effects7 MILLION people homeless and broke.Many people living in temporary shelter.Agricultural resources have been destroyed.Food shortages are a main concern and cause food riots

between the Pakistan public.A threat of social unrest: families and ethnic groups

compete with each other in an event of a break down in the government.

Increase threat of diseases: cholera, malaria, malnutrition.

Economic Effects • Widespread damage to people’s homes. Villages have

been wiped out.• Extensive damage to roads, buildings and irrigation

works.• United Nations estimate of rebuilding the country’s

damage will be billions of dollars.• Pakistan’s main industry is agriculture and has been

heavily affected by the floods:

500,000 tonnes of wheat lost.

2 million out of a targeted 14 million bales of cotton have been lost.

Economic Effects continued• The textile industry accounts for 60% of

Pakistan’s exports and as a result export sales have decreased resulting in further poverty occurring in the country.

• With the building damage cost being so high and revenue lost due to the floods, Pakistan’s economy is in ruins.

Political Effects Pakistani Government facing the threat of being destabilized due to

unhappiness brought on by the following problems: Economic problems. Living conditions. Rising transport and food cost.

These factors could cause public anger.

• The Taliban are a radical group associated with terrorism and could gain support by providing aid and winning over public support as a result becoming the head party within Pakistan.

More Statistics"flood of the century"

Rains have washed out upward of 25% of the area of the country.

AreaSome 150,000 square kilometres, or approximately 93,000 square miles, have been affected by the rising waters.

FatalitiesAt least 1,600 have been killed in the floods.

Agricultural lossesThe floods have so far destroyed 2 million bales of cotton, Business Week reported, nearly one-seventh of the country's yearly target. In addition, 500,000 tons of wheat have been ruined.

Even More Statistics• Pakistanis displaced

According to the United Nations, 7 million citizens of Pakistan have been left homeless because of the floodwaters. Furthermore 14 million Pakistanis, roughly 8 percent of the country's population, have been adversely affected by the floods, 6 million of those are children. Approximately 4,700 villages have been wiped out.

• Effect on war with the TalibanSome 60,000 Pakistani troops that had recently been fighting the Taliban have now been put on flood assistance.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht3SWzISGEE

Video – Effects of the flooding in Pakistan.

ManagementThe Government's primary focus is rescue and

relief. After each disaster episode the government

incurs considerable expenditure directed at rescue, relief and rehabilitation.

United Nations department for international strategy for disaster reduction is now focusing on flooding management for the future.

International Aid• The Pakistan floods have attracted

considerably less financial resources compared to disasters that have occurred on a similar scale.

• This is because of Pakistan's Radical Islamist image. One example of a charity which

tried to avoid the Taliban in order to help the Pakistani helpless people. Christian Aid short term aid: food, medical supplies, books, tents, blankets and clothes.

Conclusion The floods have been an important lesson to many

organisations world wide and in Pakistan itself, showing the need for proper flood management to reduce the chances of a flood like this happening again.

This flood shows there is a need for re-forestation to allow infiltration to occur and reduce surface runoff. It also highlights the importance of managing the hydrological resources and the fact Pakistan needs a drainage infrastructure to prevent flooding from happening again in the monsoon season.