Rehan Ali
Pakistan’s rivers are rising higher and faster than ever, turning monsoons into recurring disasters. As floods devastate Punjab and beyond, the country faces a hard truth: rescue alone is not enough, resilience must take center stage.
Water is swallowing lives in Pakistan again. Villages vanish overnight, families carry their children through waist-deep floods, and crops lie buried under mud. Flash floods, cloudbursts, and glacial surges strike with growing intensity, exposing how vulnerable we have become in the face of climate change. What was once an occasional disaster has become a yearly crisis, and the costs are staggering.
Relentless monsoon rains this season, compounded by glacial floods, have devastated large parts of the country. Over 800 people have lost their lives. Tens of thousands more have been displaced as homes, roads, and bridges collapsed under the force of the water. Crops over vast swathes of Punjab have been submerged, while more than 6,000 livestock perished and nearly half a million had to be evacuated. Entire communities now face acute shortages of safe drinking water, food, shelter, and healthcare. Outbreaks of waterborne diseases are beginning to spread, adding another layer of hardship.
Encroachments on riverbeds and construction along riverbanks have made the situation worse. The water that once had natural outlets is now blocked by unplanned development. What could have been manageable floods are becoming disasters. A World Bank report on South Asia’s water security published last year cautioned that Pakistan’s river systems are especially vulnerable because of poor land use and outdated infrastructure. The latest devastation is a stark confirmation of that warning.
It is important to recognize what has worked. Government agencies, humanitarian organizations, and community volunteers have saved countless lives. Flood alerts from the Pakistan Meteorological Department and rapid mobilization of boats and shelters by provincial authorities gave people precious time to evacuate. International and local NGOs have worked for years on disaster preparedness, training volunteers, installing early warning systems, and building resilience at the community level. These investments have reduced casualties compared to what they might have been without them. The work deserves genuine appreciation.
But the recent floods also show how much more needs to be done. The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report makes it clear that South Asia will see more frequent and intense floods as global warming accelerates. Pakistan cannot continue to rely mainly on rescue and relief. The scale of the crisis has outgrown our current capacity.
The way forward demands both short and long term strategies. In the short term, Pakistan needs practical measures that communities can adopt quickly. Strengthening the early warning system, improving evacuation routes, and building raised shelters in flood-prone districts can save lives. Local governments can also revive the traditional system of flood embankments and protective tree plantations along riverbanks, which in the past acted as natural buffers. These low-cost, locally driven solutions can reduce the immediate risks while bigger infrastructure reforms are planned.
In the long term Pakistan must rethink how it manages its rivers. The example of the Netherlands offers valuable lessons. Despite being a low lying country with constant flood risks, the Dutch transformed their vulnerability into resilience by modernizing canals and barrages, creating controlled floodplains, and designing ways to live with water rather than trying only to block it. Pakistan shares a similar challenge with the Indus basin but has not kept pace with innovation.
The debate over dams returns every time floods strike. It is true that if reservoirs had been built earlier, the damage might have been smaller. But dams alone are not the answer to climate change. Without modern canals, upgraded barrages, cleared riverbeds, and community based resilience programs, Pakistan will remain exposed. Dams may store water but they cannot on their own control the violence of shifting monsoons.
This crisis demands synergy. Isolated efforts by government, NGOs, or communities will never be enough. The need of the hour is coordination, shared resources, and joint planning. Humanitarian actors, civil society, and the state must work together, not in silos. Building cohesion is the only way to cope with the scale of what lies ahead.
Floods are no longer seasonal inconveniences. They are national emergencies that strike with growing force each year. The human cost is too high to ignore. Rescue and relief will always matter, but prevention and preparedness must be the national priority. If Pakistan fails to adapt, the rivers will keep rising and lives will continue to be washed away. If it succeeds in building collective resilience, the floods can be managed rather than feared. The choice is ours, but the window for action is closing.
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Rehan Ali is a communications and media professional based in Islamabad .
Email: [email protected]
