With vulnerability to disasters extremely high, it's time for Pakistan to adopt a continuum approach
As the Super Cyclonic Storm Kyarr rapidly intensified in the Arabian Sea a few days ago, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) was quick to issue an advisory, stating that although Pakistan’s coastal areas were not under direct threat from it, scattered rains and strong winds were expected in lower Sindh.
The storm didn't warrant a 'red alert' but the seawater breached the coastline and moved into coastal settlements in Balochistan and Sindh, disrupting life. Parts of Karachi located on the coast also experienced minor flooding.
Evidently, Karachi and its surrounding coastal areas are vulnerable to hydrological and geological hazards. It's not the city's close proximity to the sea that puts it in peril, it's this proximity coupled with the fact that the city lies very close to a major fault line where the Indian tectonic plate meets the Arabian tectonic plate. So if seismic activity isn't enough to jolt the city, a tsunami remains an alarming possibility that cannot be ignored.
The metropolis of 15 million people is therefore unable to effectively resist such a hazard or respond correctly in wake of a disaster.
Vulnerability in the face of disasters
The southern capital is not the only hotspot vulnerable to disasters and altogether unprepared to deal with them. The entire country is exposed to a variety of natural hazards, including floods, cyclones, storms, droughts, heatwaves, earthquakes, and landslides.
More importantly, with a considerable increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, Pakistan is included in the 10 most affected countries because of climate change.
Since the devastating earthquake in 2005, Pakistan has suffered over $18 billion in damages and losses from natural disasters. Evidently, the country's infrastructure to deal with such hazards is grossly inefficient and ineffective, and what's worse, there appears to be no clear interest from powerful quarters when it comes to disaster risk reduction.
Sadly, if a pro-active approach is not adopted soon, this inaction will further deepen Pakistan's vulnerability to disasters.
When we talk about managing disasters, we are referring to the capacity of a country, a group, or an individual’s ability to anticipate, cope with, resist, and recover from the impact of a natural or a man-made hazard.
Vulnerabilities are however not only present but are intensified when people are destitute, isolated, insecure and defenceless in the face of risk, shock, and/or stress.
More on this: What causes urban flooding? Hint: It’s not just rain
Vulnerability may also vary in its manifestations. For example, it may mean that the quality of housing is unable to withstand a hazard, such as an earthquake, or the lack of preparedness. This lack of preparedness leads to a slower response to a hazard, leading to greater loss of life and destruction of property.
Some groups are at greater risk than others
Individuals and groups differ in their exposure to risk from a hazard, based on a number of factors, including — but not limited to — their social group, gender, ethnic, and other identities, such as age, disability and geographical location.
In Pakistan, women are much more vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to pre-assigned gendered roles and power relations and in the event of disasters, the vulnerability increases, exposing them to greater risk of violence, particularly gender-based violence (GBV).