Pakistan has historically been vulnerable to flooding, mainly in the monsoon period, when heavy rains lash large parts of the country leading to riverine floods. Heavy flooding in 1950, 1965, and 2010 resulted in the loss of thousands of lives, damage to infrastructure costing billions, and the loss of livelihoods through destruction of standing crops and loss of livestock. The country’s socioeconomic characteristics, punctuated by a reliance on agricultural and pastoral activities, further aggravated the impact of flooding.
Though urbanisation is considered a harbinger of development, it also brings a number of increased risks and vulnerabilities. Migration to developed urban areas is a direct cause of overcrowding with migrants swelling the ranks of the urban poor and taking up…
