Pakistan targets water control as monsoon floods leave 107 dead

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is shifting its focus from storing water to managing supplies throughout the year as authorities respond to a deadly monsoon season that has killed at least 107 people, Climate Minister Musadiq Malik said Tuesday.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reported that 297 people had been injured since monsoon rains began on June 26. The Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast another strong monsoon spell from July 29, warning of heavy rainfall, urban flooding, and flash floods across the country. 

At a briefing held at NDMA headquarters, the climate minister said the government was adopting separate plans for different regions based on their specific risks rather than relying on a single disaster response approach.

“Our strategy is separate. It has been further segmented,” he said.

He said authorities were preparing different measures with provincial governments for cities facing extreme heat, northern areas vulnerable to climate impacts, agricultural regions, and rural communities.

The minister stated that Pakistan’s water challenge was not limited to building more storage facilities but ensuring supplies were available when needed.

“If you allowed the equivalent of ten Mangla dams’ worth of water to flow away during the last floods and did not retain it for the time when you actually needed it, what wisdom was there in that?” he said.

“We do not just have to collect water. We have to regulate water.”

The minister said dams should be viewed as tools for managing water availability. He said a lack of water during the Rabi and Kharif crop seasons would affect food security.

The climate minister said the government would focus on improving water regulation, telemetry, and storage systems. He also said federal authorities would work with provinces on zoning and construction standards.

He said building regulations mainly fall under provincial governments after the 18th Amendment of Pakistan's constitution but that the federal government would provide technical support.

National Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain said Pakistan would need more water storage capacity in the future.

He said Pakistan faced two simultaneous challenges: dealing with floods and addressing water shortages. The minister described food security, water management, and disaster preparedness as connected issues.

Rana Tanveer Hussain said the Diamer-Bhasha Dam would add around 6.4 million acre-feet of storage capacity, while Mohmand Dam would provide nearly one million acre-feet. He also referred to progress on the Dasu project and said the Karachi K-IV water supply project was expected to be completed by the end of this year or early next year.

Finance Minister Aurangzeb said climate change and population growth were Pakistan’s two “existential issues.”

“There has to be a whole-of-government approach,” he said.

He said the NDMA’s National Emergencies Operation Centre (NEOC) had improved disaster forecasting and that officials had previously provided briefings on glacial lake outburst floods, flash floods and heatwaves.

Aurangzeb said Pakistan had more financial resources available for emergency response than during the 2022 floods.

“The prime minister and the cabinet have decided that we now have sufficient resources so that whenever such disasters occur we can use our own resources for rescue and relief,” he said.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said preparations for the monsoon began before the rains under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s instructions. He said NDMA was coordinating with federal ministries, provincial governments, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The information minister stated that NEOC forecasting technology and early warning systems had helped reduce deaths and damage during this year’s monsoon.

He said authorities were issuing warnings through media outlets and the NDMA Alert mobile application. Tarar urged people to follow official alerts, saying some areas had received months of rainfall within only a few days.

On his official X account, Tarar said he visited NDMA with federal ministers on the instructions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to review flood conditions, relief efforts and rehabilitation measures in affected areas. He said NDMA briefed ministers on ongoing preparations.