Why floods bring more health devastation than you can imagine?
Pakistan – a grievous story of Climate Change
Imagine your whole life being swept away in a flash. A clean strike which leaves all pins overturned. Your home, that you created brick by brick, with love, laughter and memories. GONE. Your family and friends, the precious rocks of your life. DISPERSED. Your basic needs, food, water and medicine. INACCESSIBLE.
All of this through no fault of your own.
The truth is I can’t even come close to imaging what that is like. Whatever you work for now, whatever inconveniences you willingly face in life, you do it because you know are doing for the betterment of yourself or the happiness of your family. Whether it be new skills, hard work for the next promotion, or extra shifts to cover your holiday. The reality is, you would have no motivation or desire to do anything whatsoever if you knew that the life you are working towards would not exist tomorrow.
Natural calamities come as a flash. A drought, a flood, an earthquake, and destroy what is near and dear to you. You never factor that in your life plan. Ah, I know, I’m not going to bother buying a new house because we are due an earthquake this year. Just doesn’t happen. It’s never a of your risk calculation and maybe in the past rightfully so – natural disasters, don’t come often and you can’t spend your life worrying about things you cannot control.
But with global warming, are these disasters getting more common?
We had one of the hottest summers in England this year with temperatures crossing 40 degrees for the first-time since record began. Our grass turned from green to golden, like the sprawling African Savannah was transported several latitudes north. I love summer and its heat, so I basked in the sunlight, enjoying every second of it. And as a guilty confession even caught myself saying multiple times, “I know global warming is not great and all, but I’m loving this weather.”
But the rising temperatures sung a very different story in other countries. Whilst rainy grey England was transformed to golden and bright, the beautiful snow topped mountains in Pakistan descend into ruin.
Pakistan: A Case Story
Pakistan, I believe is an undiscovered treasure. Growing up and throughout my teenage and young adult life I have travelled far and wide. I moved continents in my childhood and backpacked in my university years whether it the Far East of Africa – from elephant sanctuaries in Chiang Mai to Game Reserves in Serengeti, Tanzania. To the stretch of blue seas and waterfalls in Croatia, the museums of Berlin to the temples in Laos – I was nicknamed “globe trotter” by my friends. I love natural beauty, history, culture and cuisine and I believe Pakistan amalgamates to a very high degree all of these to give you something simply beautiful – arguably on par with some of the other recognised tourist destinations in the world.
The geography of Pakistan is a profound blend of landscapes. The north of the country is a culturally rich mountainous population. Home to over 7,200 glaciers, the largest number outside the polar regions and the world’s 2nd tallest mountain peak – the K2. Home to over thirty spoken languages and unique cuisine which blends features of the Chinese cuisine in the north to the Pakistani cuisine in the south. Its Divine. It’s not just the mountains that are tour worthy, Pakistan houses the rare remnants of the oldest civilisations of Harappa and the grand, statement remnants of the Mughal empire. Further south we have the deserts of Sindh and the untouched beaches of Balochistan.
However, I am not blind to the reasons why Pakistan has been relatively unexplored. Politically unstable periods, compounded by an exaggerated negative media press is enough reasons to deter tourists. Up until recently, roads and other infrastructure such as hotels and restaurants were limited. So, when all of these developed, Pakistan became a hot spot tourist destination for Pakistanis – a privilege that I was able to access but the rest of the world is still largely unaware. And it may be that now we are running out of time and climate change is fast ruining the beauty of the landscape, and but most importantly, the homes and health of its people.
The Floods, The Catastrophe
The spring heat wave baked the ground and swelled the rivers with melting glacial waters. So, when the torrential monsoon rains poured in the summer, harder and stronger than before, it was way more than the landscape could cope with. The resulting flooding submerged around a third of the country, an area larger than that of the United Kingdom. It displaced 33 million people a number close to the entire population of Canada. I would argue no country, let alone a developing country is equipped to deal with this amount of climate refugees overnight and not to mention the homes and infrastructure lost. Additionally, the stagnant flood water creates an abhorrent breeding ground for diseases. Malaria, dengue, typhoid spread like wildfire as the population continues to be stranded within and begins to depend on this unsafe water.
The financial repercussions of the floods are unbearable. The torrents have destroyed half of the economically essential crops concluding cotton, wheat and rice – a country left without its lifeline and food resources. Millions are left without a roof over their head with the approaching winter and entire populations have lost their road access for food and medicines. This is not just a natural calamity, it’s a humanitarian crisis
Why floods cause more health damage than you think?
Have you ever wondered why the reasoning behind the phrase behind “Health and Social Care?” Why is healthcare just not enough to explain the full picture?
Your health and your environment are inextricably linked. No matter how many inhalers and medicine you prescribe to a patient with asthma, if they live in dilapidated conditions with mould and spores on their walls they are not going to get better. You can get the most complex surgery but without the right kind of food and nutrition, you are unlikely to recover. The social and financial repercussions are reflected in the life expectancies. There could be as much as a ten-year difference in life expectancy depending on which part of London you live in.
So what happens where this is a flood? Both the health and social aspects of the equations are shattered. We think of damage to property and death as the most obvious consequences. The media measures the devastation as to how many people have died. But the devastation extends beyond just the flood water engulfing human life.
When the flood water wash with it the sewage waste and toxic chemicals into people’s home, it become a question of life and death. If the water doesn’t directly drown you, having no choice but to drink this poisonous water will kill you. Pakistan entered a second wave of death and destruction as an outbreak of malaria, dengue and diarrhoeal diseases inundated the population. Compounded with destroyed hospital and road and lack of access to healthcare and medicines, devastation is beyond imaginable.
With the first wave destroying and infrastructure and the second way causing disease, there is a third slower and more painful stage of death. It’s the stage lasts the longest but is the most ignored. As the flood water recedes, it’s all forgotten about in the media. Oh yes, Pakistan was affected by floods last summer, but it is all ok now, the water is gone. Far from it. This is where I feel the real crisis lie – the aftermath and sustained rebuilding of a community. Something which as a global population we can contribute to and actively improve, something which if done right can make a real difference. The ones that are left behind are battling something more insidious – it creeps on your slowly. Children are face with starvation and malnutrition. People may freeze to death with their homes gone ahead of the winter. Their entire livelihood, life savings and assets gone which means they can’t afford essentials including warm clothes and sweaters. Not to mention the psychological trauma of losing your loved one with no support whilst you continue to confront death every single day.
The Climate Injustice
Going back to our thinking that most people don’t factor an imminent natural disaster in their daily risk and decision-making calculations. But should they? Are these calamities really a once in a blue moon event? The return time for large scale floodings like the 2022 flood in Pakistan is one in a 100-year event. But Pakistan was last afflicted by large floods only back 2010 with smaller floods in between. Despite contributing a negligible 0.8% to the global carbon footprint, Pakistan is yet among the 10 most climate-stressed countries according to the Global Climate Risk Index. The northern regions of Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are often dubbed the “third-pole” given its highest concentration of glaciers anywhere outside the polar regions. These are melting rapidly, creating more than 3000 lakes leaving Pakistan vulnerable to climate change. A deep sense of injustice is felt within the country. Pakistan is crushed under the fiscal and human costs of metastasizing geohazards, whilst it is other countries like China and US who are the big contributors towards climate change. Is this fair?
I agree Pakistan’s government could do more in terms of disaster relief and preparedness. A lot of the population live on flood plains where the agricultural land is rendering their homes more susceptible to flooding. Mud houses washaway with the waters and better flood water safe houses are needed. The country is afflicted by corruption amongst the authorities and money doesn’t always go towards building disaster prevention infrastructure. However, there needs to be an international effort, particularly from those who benefit economically from emitting greenhouse gases to support those more vulnerable nations they invariable cause havoc in. This has so far been shockingly poor. British Pakistani Novelists Muhammad Hanif says “It’s like haggling for the price of a life jacket with a drowning person.” Who knows what would come off the COP27 summit’s “loss and damage fund’ agreed today – we have yet to see.
I have been working with the charity UK Medical Aid to Pakistan. They have partnered with trusted ground organisations like Compassionate Distress Response Services (CDRS) and Karachi Relief trust to provide shelter (4 walls per family in Balochistan), clean water and essential medicines to those who need it the moment. Please consider visiting UKMAP’s website and donating to rebuild Pakistan.