Pakistan 2010 River Case Study

Question 1

What was the dates of the flooding in Pakistan

Answer 1

26th July 2010 until August 2010

Question 2

What where the most affected areas in Pakistan

Answer 2

The areas of the central and southern regions of Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan provinces

Question 3

What was the same of the River that flooded

Answer 3

River Indus

Question 4

Physical. Describe the affects of the higher than normal temperatures

Answer 4

Higher than normal temperatures that caused snowmelt in the Himalayan Foothills, this water fed the River Indus

Question 5

Physical. What were the type of rains

Answer 5

Monsoon rains

Question 6

Physical. What was the experience of the summer monsoon rains and what happened rainfall levels

Answer 6

The wet summer monsoon rains that were experienced were particularly intense and resulted in rainfall being twice the average rainfall for July and august

Question 7

Physical. Where did the wet summer monsoon rains extend further over

Answer 7

The wet summer monsoon rains extended further NorthWest across Pakistan than usual

Question 8

Physical. What was the result of the monsoon rains extending further northwest where did this add water to

Answer 8

This resulted in the Northern State of KPK and Swat Valley receiving unexpected intense flash floods which added a huge deluge of water into upper tributaries

Question 9

Human. What was the rate of deforestation

Answer 9

2% deforestation per year

Question 10

Human. What affect did the increased rate of deforestation have on soil and river bank erosion

Answer 10

There was an increased rate of soil and river bank erosion, therefore decreasing the capacity of the river channel and there was less interception meaning water reached the channel at a faster rate, causing flooding

Question 11

Human. How many canals, barrages and channels where poorly maintained (what where these the source of) and what resulted from this

Answer 11

1000km of canals, barrages and channels were poorly maintained and these where the source of water irrigation but they ended up choked with silt

Question 12

Human. What is irrigation

Answer 12

Irrigation is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops

Question 13

Human. Describe the characteristic of the Indus River and the impact that the loss of discharge had on it

Answer 13

The river Indus is a sediment rich river, and the loss of discharge man there was less energy to transport the sediment downstream to deltas and floodplains

Question 14

Human. What is the population of Pakistan and what pressures does this come with

Answer 14

Pakistan has a population of 191 million people, increasing by 3 million each year. With this there is a high pressure to protect homes and buildings from floods

Question 15

Human. What happens when levees are breached

Answer 15

The flood waters are trapped on the floodplain due to the levees and water can’t get back into the river so floods are prolonged

Question 16

Human. What problems to the channel capacity did the introduction of an extensive network of levees add too

Answer 16

Levees were introduced, but the extensive network of levees also added to the problem of reduced channel capacity. Levees cut the river off from the floodplain and sediment was confined to the channel and deposited on the river bed and if levees are breached the flood waters are trapped on the floodplain due to the levees and water can’t get back into the river so floods are prolonged

Question 17

IOP. How many people died

Answer 17

1800 people

Question 18

IOP. How many people injured by intense flood waters

Answer 18

3000 injuries

Question 19

IOP. How many people were recorded homeless and what were they in need of

Answer 19

10 million people were recorded as homeless and in need of food and water

Question 20

IOP. How many houses where damaged/ destroyed

Answer 20

1.6 million houses damaged/ destroyed

Question 21

IOP. Where was most common for houses to be destroyed

Answer 21

On the densely populated Punjab state

Question 22

IOP. How many people did the UN estimate that the flooding had affected

Answer 22

14 million people in some way

Question 23

IOP. What % of the countries population did not have access to good nutrition, what areas mostly

Answer 23

70% of the countries population, mostly rural did not have access to good nutrition

Question 24

IOP. What was the one positive to the flooding (what sector did it boost)

Answer 24

Irrigation water from the river had improved soil fertility which can boost agriculture, which employed 45% of Pakistans population

Question 25

IOP. Overall, how did the flooding affect Pakistan

Answer 25

Negatively

Question 26

IOPR. How many villages and homes were flooded

Answer 26

11,000 villages and 1.2 million homes were damaged/ destroyed

Question 27

IOPR. Many key social amenities were affected, how many schools and health facilities did the gov estimate where washed away

Answer 27

The government estimated that 7000 schools and 400 health facilities were washed away during the floods

Question 28

IOPR. What happened in Swat Valley, KPK

Answer 28

Every one of its 20 bridges were lost which meant that people where trapped and cut off

Question 29

IOPR. What was the total cost of damage to property for Pakistan

Answer 29

The total cost of the damage to property cost 7 million dollars which was nearly 1/5 of Pakistan’s GDP

Question 30

IOL. How much of the country did the flood waters cover

Answer 30

The flood waters covered 1/5 of the country

Question 31

IOL. How wide was the Indus River since flooding

Answer 31

The Indus River was over 24km wide which was over 25 times its usual width

Question 32

IOL. Across the whole country, how much of the most fertile land was washed away

Answer 32

Across the whole country 7 million hectares of the most fertile land was washed away

Question 33

IOL. What caused pollution to the floodwaters

Answer 33

Petrol and diesel was swept into the water causing pollution which is dangerous to animals and humans

Question 34

IOL. How much of the reptiles and small animal habitats were affected by floodwaters

Answer 34

89% of all reptiles and small animal habitats were affected by floodwaters

Question 35

IOL. What was a benefit the flooding had in the land

Answer 35

A benefit to the flood waters was that the fresh waters had helped to reduce soil salinity levels in the soil

Question 36

In conclusion what were the short and long term impacts on Pakistan from the floods

Answer 36

Hugely negative short term impacts, however, the flooding was beneficial to agriculture in the long term