International aid agency Oxfam on Tuesday claimed that government is still not prepared for current year's monsoon floods and other natural disasters despite passage of one year after worst flooding. Two to five million people are likely to be affected by floods during the current monsoon season, according to the UN and Pakistani authorities.
Hundreds of villages have already been affected and whole communities displaced by new flooding in Sindh and Punjab provinces in the last few weeks. Rivers water level is also rising in the northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The aid agency in its report, "Ready or Not: Pakistan's resilience to disasters one year on from the floods", stated that millions of people were still struggling to recover from last year's floods and would fall even deeper into poverty if hit by floods again.
Reconstruction after last year's floods is estimated to cost more than 10 billion dollars, almost a quarter of the national budget; and further disasters will put an additional strain on the country's economy. Oxfam expressed concern on the pace of recovery and reconstruction, which has left millions of people unnecessarily exposed to another disaster.
Around 37,000 people affected by the 2010 floods are still living in camps in Sindh alone; and across the country, many of those who have returned to their villages have inadequate housing, with some still living in tents. More than 800,000 families are still without proper homes and many means to protect from flood , such as river embankments, destroyed in last year's floods, have not yet been properly repaired increasing the likelihood of breaches in future floods.
For example, embankments in Sindh province have reportedly been increased by only two or three feet rather than the recommended six feet. In a press conference, Neva Khan, Head of Oxfam in Pakistan, said that villagers in areas fear new flooding. Many are planting fewer crops than usual as they are worried that the harvest will be destroyed in fresh floods. "In some areas, where fresh flooding has already begun, families have started to dismantle their houses and move to higher ground as they are scared of losing everything again", she said.
"Pakistan is a disaster-prone country and has been flooded 67 times since 1947. Climate change will only increase the threat of floods. But while floods and earthquakes are inevitable, widespread devastation is not. For years, not enough has been done to protect ordinary Pakistani men, women and children from disasters before they strike." Oxfam said lives and scarce resources could be saved in the future if the Pakistan government, with support from international donors, invests more in measures to reduce the impact of disasters. This could include flood resistant housing, and effective early warning systems - especially at the village level. The agency also called for more funding for local authorities and organisations that play a frontline role in preparing for and responding to emergencies.
In November, the World Bank and Asian Development Bank recommended Pakistan should invest $27 million, backed up with yearly top ups, to improve disaster management and reduce losses in future emergencies. Oxfam's report called on the government to implement this.
This is affordable; the country has spent more than this on expenses of National Assembly members over the last two years (some $32m). Oxfam also asked the government to deliver on its pledge and earmark a minimum of two per cent of district budget for disaster preparedness. The agency challenged donors to allocate at least 10 percent of humanitarian and recovery assistance to projects that mitigate the impact of disasters - a target that has been agreed globally, but has not been implemented.
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