A new normal is emerging in Pakistan. Flood-scarred and waterlogged, the nation faces infrastructure tests like never before from extreme weather. Climate patterns shifting have led to increased frequency of extreme rainfall events, and the immediate aftermath of torrential rainfall entails grim checklists of emergency responses.
Lives, once 241.5 million strong, have been upended. The government of Pakistan will have significant challenges to address, with the potential need to turn to the international community for financial support.
The country’s history shows pleas for aid have typically been met with generous responses, as aid is often seen as a bandage. It does not, however, provide a long-term solution to Pakistan’s problems. After a disaster like this, the priority immediately shifts to medical aid, food and shelter.
The military is called in, along with emergency services, ensuring those who are most in need are reached swiftly. Electricity and clean water represent the second wave of what needs to be restored.
But waterborne diseases like cholera, typhoid and hepatitis never lag too far behind the deluge. Pakistan is no stranger to these scenarios; authorities are all too aware of what follows in the wake of such disastrous flooding. They are, in a sense, racing against time to prevent an outbreak from compounding the tragedy already faced.
Roads and bridges built decades ago were not prepared for the ferocity and frequency of today’s extreme weather events. Against this backdrop of shifting climate patterns, it is Pakistan’s infrastructure that is most tested.
With every storm comes a reckoning, one whereby weak points are discovered and must be addressed. What this means long-term for a nation with a significant population living on landslide-prone slopes is a question that is critical. The government, whose focus currently lies in providing aid and support in the aftermath of disaster, knows it cannot turn a blind eye to this. Geography does not change — Pakistan’s is as fixed as its millions-strong populace is entrenched.
Yet the infrastructure that services this population is anything but static. When the drainage system of Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, fails — and often it does — the results are catastrophic.
Disaster can’t be prevented but the ability to mitigate its effects is pivotal. Even Islamabad, planned with avenues and greenery, isn’t safe from the wrath of nature and has experienced blocked roads due to landslides. No clean, easy solution presents itself — not when dealing with both a warming atmosphere and a landscape that appears unforgiving.
Yet, as the government faces these challenges, the reality of Pakistan’s position cannot be ignored. The script of natural disasters is not changing.
The rains will continue, testing Pakistan’s infrastructure and population anew. The reports note Pakistan is ‘prone to such natural disasters,’ and it is clear that the script must change as extreme weather becomes the new normal.
