The realities of the Pakistan Floods

In July, the worst floods in the nation’s recorded history washed over Pakistan after unprecedented and unrelenting monsoonal rainfall. The sheer scale of this natural disaster is hard to comprehend. There is a disconnect between what the the astronomical figures – such as 20 million people left homeless and 17 million acres of farmland destroyed –represent on paper and what they mean in reality.



What do the Pakistan floods mean for the Pakistani people?



- Homelessness. At least 288,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed from the floods. For many Pakistani’s, this also means a loss of all values and possessions. The scale of this loss has put pressure on the Pakistani government to provide shelter and refuge that it is failing to meet.



- Food shortage and destroyed farm land. An estimated 17 million hectares of farm land has been lost and 200,000 livestock have died. Pakistan now faces a severe food shortage that will continue well into the future. Many Pakistani’s will suffer from hunger, but farmers will also lose their livelihoods.



- Susceptibility to disease. Adding to housing and food concerns, Pakistani people are seriously susceptible to the spread of waterborne diseases. Up to 3.5 million children are at risk of contracting dysentery, cholera, and typhoid. Hepatitis A and E are also concerns.



- Ruined infrastructure. The heavy monsoonal rains also destroyed basic infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, schools and hospitals. The reconstruction effort, therefore, will involve intensive and large scale building from the ground up. It is estimated, for example, that the cost of rebuilding the 2,433 miles of highway and 3,508 miles of railway lost will be over 250 million USD. Over 5,000 schools have been destroyed, and will also need to be rebuilt.


The combination of a displaced people, food shortages, destroyed infrastructure and vulnerability to disease has created a dire situation for Pakistanis. While to the Western world the sky-high destruction figures might just be numbers on a page, the situation facing the Pakistani people is real. The scale and scope of the problems facing the country and its people will require sustained and generous aid and donations from the rest of the world. To help rebuild Pakistan, give generously to aid organisations. Pakistan flood appeal funds or other traditional methods (such as child sponsorship) will help rebuild a devastated nation.



What can you do to help?