As 2022 comes to a close, millions of Pakistanis still reel from catastrophic floods

• Roof to live under, clean water to drink, sufficient food sources, education, health services are just some of the basic necessities that flood-affectees have been deprived of.

This year’s devastating floods wreaked such havoc that Pakistan was pushed two steps back without taking one forward.

The catastrophic floods affected 33 million people across the country — of whom an estimated 8m are still exposed to floodwaters or living close to flooded areas — and displaced 8m people.

They caused an estimated Rs3.2 trillion (US$14.9 billion) of damage — equivalent to 4.8 per cent of the GDP for the fiscal year 2022.

As the year ends, 20m people are still dependent on humanitarian aid, while flash appeals by the United Nations have received only 30pc of the $816m pledged by the international community.

As of Oct 11, 94 districts were declared as calamity-hit, accounting for more than half of all districts in the country.

This piece, which uses photographs and videos that we used in our coverage of the devastation, is a reminder that the suffering of nearly 10pc of Pakistan’s population is still continuing.

Wrecked homes

When the floods happened, 897,014 houses were destroyed and at least 1.4m houses were partially damaged

Starvation

By the end of 2022, the number of people facing food insecurity increased from 7m to 14.6m as a result of loss of production and price increases, according to preliminary estimates.

Deteriorating food insecurity would push additional 1.1m people into IPC 4 (emergency phase) in early 2023. Evidence from available data indicates that over 5.1m people are already experiencing IPC 4 conditions in flood-affected areas.

IPC ‘Phase 4 Emergency’ is when urgent action is needed to save lives and livelihoods due to large food consumption gaps, which are reflected in very high acute malnutrition and excess mortality.

Hard work washed away

Around 4.4m acres of crop area were damaged and more than 1.1m livestock was estimated to have perished.

No schools, no future

According to a government report, an estimated 1.2m households with children aged 6-11 were prevented from attending school, with girls’ education disproportionately deprioritised.

At least 26,632 schools have been damaged or destroyed in the four provinces due to the floods as of Oct 20, interrupting the education of more than 3.5m children — including 1.3m girls — while 7,062 schools have been turned into relief camps.

Literally no way home

An estimated 13,115 kilometres of roads and 3,127km of railway tracks were damaged to various extents.

Empty pockets

A total of 4.3m workers across all provinces were affected, with varied income losses due to the severity and duration of the impact.

Ravaged job-providers

About 4,170 direct jobs in the private sector were adversely impacted by the floods, including losses in seasonal and long-term jobs within the tourism industry.

Poor immunisation

An additional 5.5m households with children under the age of five were estimated to not be fully immunised, leaving children at risk of deadly and preventable diseases.

Murky water

An estimated 1.5m households were deprived of clean water and sanitation, thus perpetuating a vicious cycle of disease and poverty.

The expecting only expect difficulties

Around 650,000 pregnant women faced challenges in accessing maternal services, while nearly 4m children lacked access to health services.

Lost heritage

At least 149 archaeological sites — including two World Heritage Sites in Sindh — suffered partial but considerable damage across the assessed areas.

Young girls at risk

By the end of 2022, 640,000 adolescent girls were estimated by the United Nations Population Fund to be vulnerable and at risk of coercion, gender-based violence and child marriage as these rates increase in the wake of crises and economic insecurity.

Hard lives made even harder

Around 3.8m people with disabilities living in the calamity-hit districts faced challenges and discrimination in access to services.

A helping hand

As of Dec 15, an estimated 5.8m people have been reached out to for aid in various sectors, including food security and livelihoods, shelter, health, sanitation and hygiene, and protection.

Data has been collected from:

• Post-Disaster Needs Assessment report collected by various reliable international organisations

• National Disaster Management Authority’s Daily Situation Report 158

• Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ Situation Report No. 12, Global Humanitarian Overview 2023, 100 Days After infographic and People Reached infographic

• Global Education Cluster’s Education Sector Factsheet, and

• USAID’s Floods Factsheet No.1.

Dawn.com, December 24, 2022