The monsoon season is back and so is the flood of warnings from the NDMA, urging high preparedness against extreme weather. This ongoing spell may bring heavy to hefty rainfall in the northeastern parts of Punjab, prompting the advisory authority to ring shrill alarm bells. Similar rain safety measures have also been directed by PM Sharif, probably in line with the proverb, \u201cOnce bitten, twice shy.\u201d
\nAfter what he faced in 2022 when an extraordinary monsoon spell killed more than a thousand people and displaced another eight million, devastating bridges, upturning crops and spreading widespread destruction across the country, such attention to detail was not only expected but critically needed.
\nWe may not be standing on the edge of the precipice right now. However, to borrow from the NDMA\u2019s press release, \u201cEven a mere six inches of moving water can knock you off your feet, and just one foot of moving water can sweep away a vehicle.\u201d Placing this scenario in our setting, where not much tangible progress has been achieved to mitigate the after-effects of being routinely ranked as the eighth most vulnerable country to the impacts of climate change, means that the risk of urban flooding looms large, even for well-planned-out metropolises like Karachi, not to mention the underdeveloped regions.
\nNevertheless, as always, PM Sharif could have dared go beyond the usual and introspect the momentum of post-flood reconstruction and enhancing risk protection. Is today\u2019s Pakistan better equipped to fight the wrath of Mother Nature or would we still wait for others\u2019 consciences to step in during a crisis? Simply deploying troops and expecting them to whip miracles out of thin air is misleading. Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are continuously battling historic rainfalls that leave their highways impassable, disrupt the communications network and turn life into a living hell for their residents. While we may not be in a position to undo the damage caused to the environment by the capitalist greed of the Global North, those we are counting on to foot the bill would first question us about the number of watersheds restored, rain drains repaired and the overall scope of disaster risk management.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The monsoon season is back and so is the flood of warnings from the NDMA, urging high preparedness against extreme weather. This ongoing spell may bring heavy to hefty rainfall in the northeastern parts of Punjab, prompting the advisory authority to ring shrill alarm bells. Similar rain safety measures have also been directed by PM […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-423100","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-editorial"},"yoast_head":"\n