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Pakistan - Floods Fact Sheet #1, Fiscal Year (FY) 2022

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SITUATION AT A GLANCE

  • Flooding and landslides caused by heavy rains and glacial lake outbursts since mid-June affect an estimated 33 million people in Pakistan, resulting in the deaths of at least 1,265 individuals, as the GoP leads search-and-rescue and relief operations.

  • USAID activates a DART and RMT to coordinate USG flood response efforts, as well as announces $30.1 million in life-saving assistance for flood-affected communities.

  • The UN releases its 2022 Pakistan Floods Response Plan on August 30, requesting $160.3 million to provide humanitarian assistance to 5.2 million of the most vulnerable 6.4 million people in need.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

Floods and Landslides Result in at Least 1,265 Deaths, Damage or Destroy 1.4 Million Houses Across Pakistan Heavy monsoon rains and glacial lake outbursts since mid-June have resulted in flooding and landslides across Pakistan, resulting in significant damage and humanitarian needs in at least 80 of Pakistan’s 160 districts in Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces and GilgitBaltistan Region, according to the Government of Pakistan (GoP). Pakistan has experienced nearly threefold its 30-year average annual rainfall countrywide in 2022, with rainfall in Sindh and Balochistan approximately five times higher than average. As of September 2, the floods had adversely affected an estimated 33 million people, resulted in the deaths of at least 1,265 individuals, injured more than 12,500 additional people, and damaged or destroyed approximately 1.4 million houses countrywide, the GoP National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) reports.

Meanwhile, flood-related damage to approximately 3,150 miles of road and at least 240 bridges across Pakistan has impeded evacuations, access to essential services, and the ability of search-and-rescue teams and relief actors to reach some heavily affected areas, according to the GoP and the UN. While the total number of people displaced countrywide due to the floods remains unconfirmed, an estimated 628,000 people continued to shelter in official GoP evacuation sites as of September 2, the NDMA reports. People sheltering in collective sites face heightened protection risks, including abuse, exploitation, gender-based violence, and psychosocial distress, according to the UN.
While heavy rains have largely eased across Pakistan since August 27, floods and landslides continue to affect millions of people, and any additional rains in September could exacerbate humanitarian needs, relief actors report. As of early September, the GoP Ministry of Water Resources forecasted primarily dry weather conditions across Pakistan through September 8.

However, isolated, heavy rainfall may affect upper catchments of all major rivers between September 4 and 6. In addition, while recorded flood levels along major rivers have fallen in recent days, medium-to-high flood levels persist along the Indus River—flowing southward from northern Pakistan into the Arabian Sea—from Punjab’s Dera Ghazi Khan District to Sindh’s Jamshoro District, NDMA reports. Low flood levels also persist along the Kabul River—flowing eastward through KP and draining into the Indus River—near KP’s Nowshera District.