Report: Murtaza Zaib Zehri
Balochistan is a vast and diverse region of Pakistan that is highly affected by natural disasters. Its geographical features, such as mountain ranges, deserts, and rivers, make the region vulnerable to challenges such as droughts and floods.
Drought is a persistent problem in Balochistan, especially in the southern and central regions. It negatively impacts agriculture and water supplies, causing local populations to experience food insecurity.
On the other hand, floods also become a threat in Balochistan during the rainy season. Heavy rains sometimes lead to landslides and floods in rivers.
Muhammad Amin is a hardworking shepherd who lives in Nushki district of Balochistan. They belong to a modest family, and do pastoralism and small-scale farming for their livelihood. Their livelihood depends on their goats and standing crops, which are the result of their hard work and dedication.
But over the years, since drought gripped Balochistan, a new chapter began in Muhammad Amin’s life.
It should be remembered that Balochistan faced a severe drought from 1998 to 2002, during which thousands of livestock died and agricultural lands became barren.
The year 2018 and 2019 also saw the effects of drought due to water scarcity in various districts of Balochistan, which significantly reduced agricultural production.
Rainfall in this area was very low, which affected the fertility of the soil. Their fields began to dry up, and severe water scarcity created hardship for them.
On the other hand, the 2022 floods in Balochistan’s Sahabpur district caused a massive disaster, affecting the life of local farmer Muhammad Arif Khosa. Muhammad Arif, who is involved in agriculture, had grown crops in his fields with his hard work, but the flood destroyed all the fruits of his labor.
Mohammad Arif said, “The hard work of the last several months has gone away in an instant. My fields had ready crops, but now there is nothing left. It is a question of my life and my family’s life.”
The floods of the year 2022 affected 26 districts of the province. About 250,000 houses were damaged or completely destroyed.
More than 400 people died as a result of the floods. The standing crops on the agricultural lands of the province were damaged to the tune of more than 20 billion rupees. Livestock deaths numbered in the thousands, severely affecting the economy of the local population.
In the year 2023 and 2024, heatwaves raised the temperature in different areas of Balochistan to over 50 degrees Celsius. Due to acute shortage of water and barrenness of agricultural lands, thousands of acres of land have become uncultivable.
The local population is facing shortage of drinking water, which is increasing the trend of migration.
According to the Climate Risk Index 2021, between 2000 and 2019, Pakistan ranks eighth among the countries most affected by the effects of severe climate change.
According to the report, Pakistan is affected by climate change, increasing urbanization, environmental degradation, and increasingly severe and large-scale natural disasters. Pakistan is prone to natural hazards like drought, floods, heat waves, extreme cold and earthquakes.
While in recent years, Pakistan has been facing many threats including long dry year. 50 lakh people were affected in the long drought wave that continued from 2018 to 2019. After which one million people were affected in the western regions of the country due to the emergency situation during winter.
According to Muhammad Younis Mengal, in-charge PEOC, the 2022 floods brought Balochistan to the brink of disaster. This natural calamity caused serious loss of lives and property to the province.
Deaths: 257 people lost their lives.
Injured: 164 people were injured.
During this time 61718 houses were affected out of which 17608 were completely destroyed and 44110 were partially damaged.
More than 1,500 km of roads and 18 bridges were destroyed by the floods, cutting off connectivity in the province.
Agriculture: 200811 acres of ready crops were destroyed.
Cattle: 2 lakh 15 thousand 936 cattle were swept away in the flood.
PDMA immediately started a rescue operation to help the victims. Meanwhile, 300 families trapped in the flood were moved to safer places.
Azat Foundation is a non-governmental organization working on disaster relief and drought relief in Balochistan.
In a special conversation with Balochistan 24, the head of the institution, Zahid Mengal, said that during the floods in 2022, people suffered a lot in Turbat and Panjgur.
In the survey by the non-governmental organization, it was revealed that ready crops of dates were destroyed and in this regard, the landlords were facing a financial loss of about sixty crore rupees from Kopchas.
