EDITORIAL: Pre-monsoon rains forecast for last Sunday were expected to bring respite from a week-long heatwave; instead they left behind a trail of devastation in vast swathes of Balochistan and Punjab.
At least 20 people were killed in lightning strikes and house collapse. More heavy downpours accompanied by strong winds and thunder storms are expected to cause flash floods in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and also lash various parts of Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir till June 30. Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) have urged the authorities and citizens to take precautions.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Department has warned of urban flooding in several cities of Punjab and KP and landslides in Murree, the Guliyat, Azad Kashmir as well as hilly areas of KP and Gilgit-Baltistan. Hopefully, the NDMA is fully prepared to deal with any such eventuality.
Following the rainstorm that lashed Lahore on a week ago, inundating roads and residential areas all over the city, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a statement directing the relevant authorities to remain on the alert. “No leniency should be shown in addressing the public issues and grievances,” he said, also calling on all provincial and district administrations to adopt safety measures in other parts of the country during the current rain spell. It is good to note that emergency measures are being taken to mitigate the effects of urban flooding.
But there is not much the civic authorities can do to ease the situation. An efficient drainage system needs to be put in place to draw off the excess rainwater. In this regard, the previous government in Punjab had planned to construct 15 storage tanks at various points in Lahore to hold water drained out from road and streets and use it for horticultural purposes.
Another worthwhile aim of the project was to help regenerate the underground aquifers. Unfortunately, only one or two of these rainwater retention tanks have come to fruition; others remain stalled due to usual administrative red tape and glitches. This project ought to be completed and replicated in all other big cities.
With climate change and ever-expanding urban sprawl, flooding in cities is to increase in the coming years. New strategies, therefore, are needed to deal with this problem. Aside from building rainwater retention tanks, wetlands should be developed to hold excess water, which will also profit the ecology.
Another cost-effective way of managing excess water are ponds that used to exist in various cities as well as rural areas but have gradually disappeared. It is about time all provincial governments paid serious attention to the clear and present threat of flooding, and took preventive measures before calamity strikes.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023