Flood control an afterthought

In another upsetting report that surprised no one, the Senate was informed by the Prime Minister's Office that the 2025 floods inflicted an estimated loss of Rs853 billion on Pakistan's economy. More than a thousand lives were lost, millions displaced, and vast swathes of agricultural land rendered barren. No significant action has been taken to mitigate similar future floods, despite the fact that Pakistan has had about half a dozen 'flood of the century' events in the past 16 years. Instead, the people entrusted with the nation's safety would rather blame the rest of the world for overpromising and underdelivering on relief aid.

But floods are now hitting Pakistan with such intensity and frequency that economists can reliably estimate annual losses due to flood damage - about 9.5% of GDP. A bad flood season can erase more than a full year's economic gains. Yet, despite tall claims, the government's flood strategy remains almost entirely reactive, with - as we mentioned - a significant component consisting only of complaining. Even though foreign donors could do more, evidence on the ground suggests that what little they do provide is quickly squandered by local governments and other implementing bodies. That is why, despite receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance, water level monitoring in several parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is still stuck in time, relying on the less-than-cutting-edge system of measuring notches on bridge pillars. Meanwhile, after almost a decade of existence, the National Flood Protection Plan has failed to address the root causes of the problem and barely makes a difference for the millions of people affected by floods every year. It has, however, doubled in cost.

If the government is serious about addressing floods, it should forget about chasing other countries to demand aid and instead correct existing laws and rules. The National Flood Protection programme remains thin on unique achievements, but its budget is now twice what it was when it began operations.