‘Flood damage assessment system being introduced to Pakistan’

LAHORE:A system of flood damage assessment is being introduced in Pakistan in the collaboration with International Water Management Institute (IWMI) following the extreme flooding across the country.

Country Representative for the IWMI Dr Mohsin Hafeez said that all four of Pakistan’s provinces have been severely hit by floods and excessive rainfall in hill torrents, with some rural regions unreachable by road. “We are working closely with the federal, provincial and local governments to help assess the flood damage using remote sensing and satellite imagery to support prioritisation of humanitarian responses.”

“IWMI is drawing on its experience of other flood events in India and Sri Lanka, where we have developed effective early warning systems, to help guide the government in putting together an evidence-based framework to support the recovery and relief effort”, added Dr Hafeez.

Pakistan is one of the top 10 nations most vulnerable to climate change and the worst affected provinces of Balochistan and Sindh have received 400 per cent more precipitation this year than their 30-year average. The unprecedented and early heatwave this year also accelerated the melting of glaciers in the Himalaya, Hindu Kush and Karakoram mountain ranges, creating thousands of glacial lakes in northern Pakistan, around 30 of which could cause a deluge.