The recent catastrophic floods have caused the most ravaging damage to Pakistan. Entire villages have been washed away. Over 1500 people dead, and more than 34 million lost of live stock, crops and livelihood. The ravaging floods have left the country standstill. Now as the flood water recedes, the debt-trapped country is now on to the uphill task of rehabilitation and relief activities.
Now to avoid the disastrous effect and minimize the cost of damages caused by floods, Pakistan needs to take some utmost important measures. In the aftermath of disastrous floods, these measures can minimize the effects of the floods to some extent;
- Identify flood-prone areas:
There are certain areas which are more exposed to floods and little to mild rain can cause floods in these areas. Areas in the suburbs of the Indus river and some areas in south Punjab and rural areas of interior Sindh are usually supposed to get intensely affected by floods. So all the flood-prone areas should be identified beforehand.
- New dam construction:
Constructing new dams can drastically minimize the damages caused by floods. Dams can help regulate a water flow by storing water in reservoirs and reducing the risk of downstream flooding. At this point in time, Pakistan has the two largest dams, Tarbela Dam and the Mangla Dam which are the most important flood-prevention structures. However, these dams are not 100% effective because the capacity of their reservoirs is limited to a certain extent. Pakistan must build more dams with larger reservoirs to address this problem.
- Smarter construction:
We haven’t learned from our past and time after time we have faced the consequences of building using bad-quality materials. Now that we have to reconstruct much of the country, it is crucial to ensure that the material used is of good quality. Construction on riverbanks, near airports or in other high-risk areas should be avoided. This will not only save numerous lives but also minimize the material loss in face of future natural disasters.
- Environment-Friendly:
Although Pakistan contributes less than 1% of Greenhouse Gases, it is amongst the top countries affected by climate change. It is about time we take this threat seriously, and realize that we are on our own to counter the problem. We need to focus on minimizing risks through measures like forestation, reducing carbon emissions, shifting to cleaner energy sources and reducing pollutants.
Conclusion:
As we have already seen one-third of Pakistan was under water in recent Foods, we need to take this as a case study for our future disastrous management. By adopting the above-listed tips on how to minimize flood disasters in future, we can make a huge difference.
These actions might not entirely eliminate the damages caused by floods, however, they will reduce the number of people who lose their life and also the damages caused by disastrous floods.
