Revised Pakistan 2022 Floods Response Plan Final Report (Issued 15 Dec 2023)

Context

Between June and August 2022, Pakistan faced unprecedented heavy rains and floods following a combination of extreme precipitation and other factors, including glacial melt urban and flash flooding exacerbated by climate change. One third of the country suffered the impact of widespread flooding and landslides heavily impacting human lives, property, agriculture, and infrastructure. Around 33 million people were affected, and 20.6 million people in need of lifesaving assistance, half of whom were children. In total, 7.9 million people were displaced, with at least 664,000 individuals moving into relief camps and informal sites.

The Government of Pakistan designated 84 districts as ‘calamity-hit’, with the most significant impact felt in the southern and central regions of the country. The economic impact was most prominent in Sindh, which suffered 70 per cent of the country’s total losses and damages. Punjab, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces were affected to a lesser – though still significant – degree. According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)the floods damaged or destroyed more than 2.3 million homes and wiped out over 1.7 million hectares (4.4 million acres) of crops, while over 800,000 livestock perished, pushing more than 8 million people into poverty. Further, over 30,000 schools and 2,000 health facilities were damaged and needed to be repaired or entirely rebuilt. The lack of access to essential services, including safe latrines, clean drinking water, and health facilities, was a critical risk factor for the displaced populations.

Amid the increasing threat of climate change, floods in Pakistan¹ have grown more frequent, resulting in some communities facing repeated cycles of displacement. For these communities, the fatigue caused by climate-induced disasters has impacted severely on their well-being. Such hazards have badly impacted the lives and livelihoods of millions of people, bearing a significant human and socio-economic cost and exacerbating vulnerability and exposure to protection risks, especially for groups including women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities.