The aftermath of flash floods on downstream locations has the most detrimental effects. Our governments don’t seem to be able to do much about water logging caused by heavy rains since they lack the necessary equipment and resources to act quickly
Nearly 700 people have died as a result of the climate nightmare that Pakistan, and the entire region, is experiencing, and hundreds of thousands of people are still homeless. 200 of the deceased are from Balochistan alone. The nation is currently confronted by yet another potent low-pressure region as if the people and the nation’s already shaky infrastructure had not already experienced enough. Pakistan has had severe and moderate rains, thunderstorms, and flooding throughout the course of the past month. There is a chance that the country would see even more destructive weather patterns, especially in Balochistan, due to the influence of an amplified seasonal low that is still present in the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan.
The country is still not entirely prepared to handle the irregular weather conditions that many countries have been facing, as the ongoing wet spell has vividly demonstrated. The aftermath of flash floods on downstream locations has the most detrimental effects. Our governments don’t seem to be able to do much about water logging caused by heavy rains since they lack the necessary equipment and resources to act quickly. The affected people who have lost their loved ones, their livestock, their crops, and their modest homes are under additional stress as a result of all these things.
People are left to their own devices, traveling from place to place with their possessions and cattle as district governments issue high-alert warnings. The water level in the Indus has increased to 500,000 cusecs and is expected to surpass 700,000 cusecs in the next few days. The rivers then continue to swell as a result of the hill torrent floods. The administration must have a thorough plan in place to quickly evacuate the vulnerable population from flood-prone locations.
Climate change is no longer a foregone conclusion; it is now a harsh reality, and the government cannot offer any justification for its lack of readiness. Issuing evacuation instructions alone is insufficient when flood waters are continually rising. All governmental apparatus must be used to address the problem. There are claims that wealthy landowners with acres of land in some regions of the nation, particularly southern Punjab, have protected themselves from floods by erecting barriers or building drains that divert water away from their own agricultural lands and into the fields or even the homes of smaller landowners or people who are powerless to speak up for themselves.
Such structures ought to be entirely forbidden. Additionally, all dry river beds and streams must have sturdy bridges that can endure raging torrents. But in this area, new bridges constructed by our successive governments are swiftly washed away.
These embankments are not sturdy or strong enough to withstand the strain of water, despite the government spending billions of rupees on them. As a result, hundreds of villages are flooded, killing both people and animals. Additionally, the floods don’t only spell calamity for a few days or weeks. This is particularly true for smaller farmers who lack the resources to save their fields and secure their crops.
They will confront a scenario in which they go the full growing season without having a product to depend on and sell. What are people now in need of? They require a government that prioritizes serving the needs of the people above all else. Ignore politics and partisanship in favor of serving the needs of the populace. Sadly, we haven’t really seen much of that. A reckoning is necessary as the people of Balochistan, Sindh, and southern Punjab get ready for life as either IDPs or even more vulnerable residents. The nation just cannot afford to be this unprepared year after year.
