Towards flood resilience

A natural event, so blatantly foreseeable, had the power to – according to the UN assessment – claim 739 human lives and over 1,000 livestock; damage or destroy more than 2,400 houses; and injure 978 people across the country - in the span of just one week. For months and years on end, environmentalists and citizens alike have been advocating for flood-resilient urban planning in Pakistan, calling for the protection of lakes and a ban on ever-increasing tourist infrastructure. They have been championing the need for decreased deforestation, increased mangrove restoration and modern flood defence systems. Academics have been citing inadequate infrastructure and poor river management as causes for concern in a changing climate. But traditionally, as made apparent through most tragedies here, Pakistan is a nation that attempts to pick itself back after falling, instead of focusing on preventing the fall.

The cataclysmic monsoon season of 2025 was not a one-off disaster. It is instead the beginning of a new normal marked by increased natural disasters, a worsening climate and severe threats to human health and livelihoods. It is now an irreversible direction. But irreversibility does not translate to unmanageability. Pakistan now needs to implement urgent emergency relief and also go beyond relief to embed protective measures in its policy, planning and long-term rehabilitation strategies. Of the utmost importance currently is addressing large-scale displacement of flood victims. The government needs to be expeditious in arranging temporary shelter and relief camps, offering mobile clinics to counter disease outbreaks and extending financial support for affected families so they can meet their basic needs. It must help with reconstruction of the damaged houses and restoration of livestock which is a significant source of livelihood for many.

Alongside, the government must wake up to the warning signs of nature and make long-term plans so we do not have to bear witness to such tragedies again.