indus management and response

Question 1

pre event management

Answer 1

• Indus River has abt 6,000km levees on both banks
• 1.8m high but easily topped + poorly constructed
• Sedimentation reduced storage capacities of two main resevoirs
• Sukkur barrage built in 1930s, designed to handle 900k cumecs not 1.4mil cumecs
• warning systems didnt cover entire basin. none in Swat valley
• studies show human activity has disturbed river system, = more severe floods

Question 2

aid efforts

Answer 2

Pakistan
- PM admitted gov. couldnt cope
- Within 1st week, 100,000+ rescued by army, 30,000 soldiers involved
- After 1 week of flooding, govt still failed to provide any emergency supplies: no food, water, tents, blankets or medicines.
- late in setting up camps to house refugees

International
- USD$158 million of aid pledged after 3 months, only five donor countries – the UK, USA, Australia, Italy and Kuwait (gave more than $5 mil)
- World Bank estimated $2 billion needed to meet reconstruction costs. UN appeal fell short by 50%
- However, int 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

Question 3

eval

Answer 3

• Most of river management focused on reactive measures (e.g. rebuilding, providing aid) and building levees (largely failed)
• flooded again in 2011 and 2022, although impacts were less people still hadn’t recovered from earlier floods, had to start again
• pakistan 140th/180 in corruprion index, so countries stopped donating