Pakistan Floods of 2010

By Kaila Rhodes, Amy Conway, Kyle Andrus, Sierra Stallings, and Melanie Strickland

The Devastating Floods of 2010 

The July 2010 floods, caused by swift and powerful monsoon, devastated nearly 11 percent of the land in Pakistan destroying homes, infrastructure, and crops, displacing thousands, causing disease, tension between citizens and the government and the deaths of hundreds of Pakistanis.

The Facts

1,600 people died

Over 1.7 million people lost their homes

1.9 million people became refugees

12% of the population was affected.

Secondary Effects of the Floods

Displacement

Livelihoods lost, especially for farmers

Top exports wiped out

Food prices

quadrupled

Malnutrition ~ 70% of Pakistanis didn’t have adequate amounts of food and water available to them.

Health: Diarrhea, Cholera, Malaria

Terrorist Attacks ~ Vulnerable to attacks by the Taliban and other extremist groups

Loss of faith in leaders because of poor aid and relief given.

Why were the floods of 2010 so much more devastating that previous monsoon seasons?

Large amounts of rain fell in a short time due to the mixing of cool, moist air from the ocean and warm air from the continent.

179.5% more rain than normal

Southern Asia experienced a heat wave creating an ideal setting for floods.

Government’s Poor Response

The government's failure to help victims reinforced the long-held view that Pakistan's civilian authorities are ineffective, leaving the military to act at troubled times. The government of President Asif Ali Zardari has limited control over the military. It has also been relatively ineffective in tackling corruption and reforming the economy.

Zardari, who left the country after the floods began and continued on his trip to France and Britain even when the scale of the disaster became apparent, is the focus of much of the anger.

The floods that ravaged the northwest and displaced more than a million people are testing an administration heavily dependent on foreign aid and that has a poor record in crisis management - whether fighting Taliban insurgents or easing chronic power cuts

Who responded well?With the government overwhelmed by the scale of the

disaster, Islamic groups, including extremist organizations such as Jamaat-ud-Dawa, have stepped into the gap. The military has also distributed aid in areas where locals complain that government help is almost entirely absent. More than 30,000 Pakistani army troops have rescued some 19,000 people from marooned areas so far. Some army bases used to strike at militants in Nowshera, some 100 kms (62 miles) northwest of the capital Islamabad, have been flooded.

The Independent, August 2, 2010, Flood Stirs Anger at Pakistan Government Response

Salman Shahid, spokesman for the Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (Foundation for the Welfare of Humanity), said the Islamist group had set up 13 relief and six medical camps, and a dozen ambulances provided emergency treatment. Several other Islamist groups also helped out with the relief effort. But some analysts said the Islamists' relief camps in the flood-hit areas had set a dangerous precedent. “It is very likely that they will exploit the governance vacuum, in the wake of this tragedy, to fuel their own recruitment," said columnist Huma Yusuf.

The Independent, August 2, 2010, Flood Stirs Anger at Pakistan Government Response

The Guardian, August 13, 2010, Pakistan Flood prompts rising anti-government resentment

Also, the UN has pledged $10m to help in the crisis, as has the US, which has also rushed rescue helicopters and boats to Pakistan to reach survivors who have been cut off by the floods. The devastating flooding in Pakistan has spurred a macabre race between extremist Taliban Islamists and the West. Both sides are competing to arrive first with aid and thus win the hearts of locals in remote regions who have felt neglected or abandoned by their government for decades. The flooding has exacerbated those sentiments.

Aljazeera, August 2, 2010, Anger Over Pakistan Flood Response

Kazim, Hasnian, August 16, 2010, Race to Provide Aid Emerges Between West and Extremists

What impact will the floods have on the future of Pakistan?

Nearly 800,000 still without homes

Weakened infrastructure, disease and displacement cause a continued weak economy, health & healthcare and unrest amongst the people.

Anger being directed at government leading to possible uprisings

Grateful for the militant groups and Taliban for their efforts – placing trust in army

Slow rebuilding of the country - Predict that country will never be fully rebuilt

Still claiming lives of malnourished and diseased, especially in Sindh province

Few preventative measures have been created for another equally damaging flood – if another were to occur, country would only be marginally worse off

Do the floods make state collapse more

likely?

The Pakistani people are “seething with anger” but remain “too disjointed and weary to stir up action against the government and join Islamist insurgents”

Why such a weak response?

Pakistani government cannot be trusted

Victims are Muslim

Should take care of itself

Financial crisis

“Why doesn’t the world care about Pakistan? Because they live in Pakistan.”

Taliban and Al Quaida reputation.

Common misconceptions about Islamic culture.

General Public Takes the BlowThanks to Pakistan’s bad image, the people suffer.

Assistance to Pakistan extremely low compared to recent natural disasters.

$16.36 per person raised. (As opposed to $1249.80 in the 2004 India Tsunami and $1087.33 for the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.)

Sources

http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/pakistan-floods-and-education/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/15/pakistan-floods-international-aid-slow

http://times92.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/floods-in-pakistan-2010-1.jpg

http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/bro/lowres/bron2038l.jpg

http://nimg.sulekha.com/others/original700/pakistan-floods-2010-7-29-10-30-50.jpg

Sources (cont.)

http://revolutionaryfrontlines.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/pakistan-floods-who-is-responsible-growing-peoples-anger/

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/07/31/idINIndia-58544120110731

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12308913

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Pakistan_floods

http://green-container-intl-aid.com/

http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/14/court-activism-sign-of-power-shift-in-pakistan/

http://times92.com/opposition-jittery-about-army-in-pakistan/pakistan-floods-2010/