LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST NOTABLE DISASTERS.

PART II B – PAKISTAN’S FLOODS

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna,

Virginia, USA 

NATURAL DISASTER FACED BY PAKISTAN NATURAL DISASTER FACED BY PAKISTAN NATURAL DISASTER FACED BY PAKISTAN NATURAL DISASTER FACED BY PAKISTAN

EARTHQUAKES

CYCLONES

FLOODS

LANDSLIDES

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

DEVELOP POLICIES FOR ACTIONS HAVING HIGH BENEFIT/COST

DEVELOP POLICIES FOR ACTIONS HAVING HIGH BENEFIT/COST

GOAL: FLOOD DISASTER GOAL: FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENCE RESILIENCE

GOAL: FLOOD DISASTER GOAL: FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENCE RESILIENCE

NORTHWEST PAKISTAN (AND AFGHANISTAN) HIT BY

CATASTROPHIC FLOODING AFTER PROLONGED

MONSOON RAINS

JULY 28-AUGUST 23, 2010

[NOTE: War and Ramadan (which began on Aug 12) were major hinderances]

ONE-FIFTH OF PAKISTAN AFFECTED

Over 1,600 Pakistanis died (and probably many more) and more than 20,000,000 were impacted, including 3,500,000 children, as rains swelled rivers, inundated

villages, and triggered landslides, causing entire villages, roads, and

bridges to be swept away and leaving some areas isolated.

BACKGROUND OF THE 2010 FLOOD DISASTER

Summer floods are common as a result of monsoon rains that swell

rivers and streams across Pakistan, but 2010’s floods, which began in

May and continued through August were the worst in 80 years, setting

records in the province of KhyberPakhtunkhwa, parts of the Pakistan-administered Kashmir

region, and the Punjab province.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: INUNDATED

FLOOD SWOLLEN RIVER: MINGORA, SWAT

MUZAFFARABAD: RISING FLOOD WATERS

PAKISTAN PAKISTAN COMMUNITIESCOMMUNITIES

PAKISTAN PAKISTAN COMMUNITIESCOMMUNITIES

DATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATIONDATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATION

HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS

•HAZARD MAPS•INVENTORY•VULNERABILITY•LOCATION

FLOOD RISKSFLOOD RISKS

RISK

ACCEPTABLE RISK

UNACCEPTABLE RISK

TOWARDS FLOOD DISASTER TOWARDS FLOOD DISASTER RESILIENCERESILIENCE

•PREPAREDNESS•PROTECTION•EMERGENCY RESPONSE•RECOVERY and RECONSTRUCTION

RISK MANAGEMENTRISK MANAGEMENT

FLOOD RESILIENCE GOALSFLOOD RESILIENCE GOALS

• PREPAREDNESS (BE READY FOR WHAT HAPPENS)

• PROTECTION (BUILD TO WITHSTAND)

• PREPAREDNESS (BE READY FOR WHAT HAPPENS)

• PROTECTION (BUILD TO WITHSTAND)

THOUSANDS OF MUD BRICK HOMES COLLAPSED

NOWSHERA: DAMAGED MUD HOUSE

COLLAPSED HOUSE

THESE LIVESTOCK WERE SAVED, BUT THOUSANDS DROWNED

LOSS OF INFRASTRUCTURE HINDERED EMERGENCY RESPONSE

TRYING TO DIVERT WATER

FLOOD RESILIENCE GOALSFLOOD RESILIENCE GOALS

• REAL-TIME MONITORING AND WARNING SYSTEMS (EVACUATION)

• EMERGENCY RESPONSE (RESPOND TO NEEDS OF PEOPLE)

• RECOVERY/RECONST. (RESTORE TO NORMAL QUICKLY)

•

• REAL-TIME MONITORING AND WARNING SYSTEMS (EVACUATION)

• EMERGENCY RESPONSE (RESPOND TO NEEDS OF PEOPLE)

• RECOVERY/RECONST. (RESTORE TO NORMAL QUICKLY)

•

The survival of some of the poorest of the poor living in the districts of Nowshera, Charsadda, Peshawar,

Swat, and Lower Dir became problematic very early because of

the prolonged, catastrophic nature of the monsoon rains and flooding.

EVACUATION WAS DIFFICULT EVERYWHERE

NOWSHERA: EVACUATION

NOWSHERA: EVACUATION TO A SAFE HAVEN

NOWSHERA: SEEKING HIGHER GROUND

SEEKING HIGHER GROUND

SEEKING A SAFE HAVEN

EVACUATE WITH WHAT CAN BE CARRIED

EVACUATE WITH WHAT CAN BE CARRIED

EVACUATE WITH WHAT CAN BE CARRIED

EVACUATE WITH WHAT CAN BE CARRIED

EVACUATE WITH WHAT CAN BE CARRIED

THIS EVACUATION FROM CHARSADDA WAS DIFFICULT

CLINGING TO DEBRIS

The USA provided $60 million for immediate emergency assistance

along with Navy and Marine helicopters, rescue boats, water

filtration units, prefabricated steel bridges and thousands of packaged

meals, which Pakistani soldiers tossed from helicopters

OVER 3.5 MILLION CHILDREN IMPACTED

The United Nations announced Saturday, July 31, that they would

provide $10 million dollars for immediate emergency assistance

and would appeal for 460 million for an emergency effort to provide

food, medicine, water, and shelter, especially for 3.5 million children.

International response to the appeal of the United Nations for $460

million was unusually slow due mainly to global economic slow-

down.

MUZAFFARABAD: INADEQUATE TEMPORARY SHELTER

INADEQUATE TEMPORARY SHELTER

ADEQUATE TEMPORARY SHELTER?

FOOD LINE IN PUNJAB PROVINCE: AUGUST 20

FOOD LINE IN PUNJAB PROVINCE: AUGUST 20

WAITING FOR FOOD

PESHAWAR: MELONS BECAME PRECIOUS

In Afghanistan, NATO and Afghan troops flew dramatic helicopter rescue missions in militant-held

territory, displaying "acts of heroism that were awe inspiring," according to a spokesman for the Combined Air Power Transition

Force.

30,000 Pakistani troops rescued 28,000 people using helicopters and other means, and distributed water

and food.

NOWSHERA: PAKISTANI ARMY DISTRIBUTING WATER

By August 12th, rain-swollen rivers were receding, but the disaster was

still growing because many of Pakistan’s poorest of the poor families had not only lost their

homes, but also the ability to feed themselves, and were now threatened with disease..

The rains paused on Monday, August 2, for a time, but survival for thousands was already a race with

time as evacuation, search and rescue, mass care (food, clean water, and short- and long-term health care to

prevent disease) were severely hindered by the widespread

inundation and loss of infrastructure.

On August 12th, Pakistan’s President Zardari made his first trip to Sukkur to view the flood impacts

and to assure angry citizens concerned that they had been

abandoned, that the Government was working very hard to obtain

international relief.

PROTESTERS: NOWSHERA

The people protested to the government, because they

perceived that the urgent need adequate temporary shelters,

and clean drinking water and toilets to avert a public health catastrophe

was NOT being met.

LESSON: TO REACH THE GOAL OF FLOOD RESILIENCE - - -

LESSON: TO REACH THE GOAL OF FLOOD RESILIENCE - - -

• ALL SECTORS OF THE COMMUNITY NEED TO HAVE A ROLE IN IMPLEMENTING POLICIES THAT WILL LEAD TO FLOOD RESILIENCE.

• ALL SECTORS OF THE COMMUNITY NEED TO HAVE A ROLE IN IMPLEMENTING POLICIES THAT WILL LEAD TO FLOOD RESILIENCE.