Post-disaster recovery transition lessons from the 2010 floods in Pakistan

In 2010 severe flooding hit Pakistan, inundating about 37 thousand square kilometres of the nation’s area.

Over 20 million people were affected; the number is higher than those affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, 2005 Cyclone Katrina, or the 2008 cyclone Nargis in Myanmar.

The total loss from these massive floods totalled US$10.4 billion, or 5.7% of Pakistan’s GDP.  After the flooding event, the rescue and relief activities lasted up to 8 months, which began in July 2010 until the end of March 2011.  

Sindh province was one of the most affected by this event; out of the 20 million affected, 7.3 million residents were from the Sindh province. Sadly for them, the post-recovery after this unprecedented flood stopped at the rescue and relief phase.

According to the study, there was no recovery and reconstruction authority established in the province after the flooding incident – a task that belongs to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

[...]