indus management and response Flashcards
pre event management
The Indus River has nearly 6,000 km of levees along both of its banks
1.8m but were easily topped and poorly constructed
Sedimentation reduced storage capacities of two main resevoirs
Sukkur barrage built in 1930s, designed to handle 900,000 cumecs not 1.4 cumecs
studies indicated human intervention has disturbed river system resulting in more severe floods
warning systems did not cover entire basement. none in Swat valley
aid efforts
Pakistan
PM admitted gov. could not cope
Within the 1st week, over 100,000 were rescued by the army, with 30,000 soldiers involved
After a week of flooding the government had still failed to provide any emergency supplies: no food, water, tents, blankets or medicines. It was also late in setting up camps to house refugees
International
USD$158 million of aid was pledged after 3 months, with only five donor countries – the UK, USA, Australia, Italy and Kuwait – giving more than $5 million
The World Bank estimated that $2 billion would be needed to meet reconstruction costs. The UN appeal fell short by 50%
However, international aid and relief efforts faced many challenges, including:
- Blocked access routes
- Collapsed bridges
- Lack of dry land to erect tents
- Lack of clean water supplies
- Lack of sanitation
eval
Most of the river management is focused on reactive measures (e.g. rebuilding structures, providing aid) and building levees (which largely failed)
flooded again in 2011 and 2022 meaning although impacts were less people had still not recovered from the earlier floods and had to start again
