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Pakistan floods 2011

A year after the devastating monsoon floods of 2010, Pakistan has been hit once again with heavy rains and severe flooding. Over 5.2 million people have been affected, mostly in Sindh and Balochistan provinces. Heavy rains persisted well into mid-September and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

The latest floods arrived as millions of Pakistanis were rebuilding their livelihoods following last year’s monsoon floods, which were the worst in Pakistan’s history, having affected over 20 million people and damaged/destroyed 1.7 million homes.

Focus on Agriculture

Approximately 70 percent of the people in the affected areas relied on agriculture as a source of food and income. The floods destroyed nearly 925 000 hectares of crops. Millions of Pakistanis lost their productive assets and livelihoods, especially farmers who have lost their current and future sources of food and income. For many communities, the crisis has compounded losses from 2010 floods, which receded too late in many areas of Sindh to allow for planting of the rabi (spring) wheat crop. Damage to irrigation was also a major concern as around 80 percent of wheat planted in Sindh was irrigated.

In addition to the approximately 116 000 dead livestock, around 5 million surviving animals have been directly affected. Surviving livestock were at heightened risk of disease and worm infestation, and without feed as a result of flooded pastures and destroyed feed stocks.

This was the second consecutive year in which floods disrupted or destroyed significant amounts of the kharif harvest and preparations for the rabi crops. FAO and its partners in the Food Security Cluster worked to build off of 2010 response and prevent further livestock losses and missed planting opportunities.

The Pakistan Floods Rapid Response Plan 2011 was launched on 18 September to support Government-led response efforts. FAO co-leaded the Food Security Cluster, along with the World Food Programme, and sought USD 18.9 million to provide immediate agricultural support. Around 3 million flood-affected and food-insecure people urgently required agricultural support to resume farming activities.