Damages to agricultural sector

In Punjab, agriculture is the primary economic activity. The floodplain of Indus River and its eastern
tributaries along with the extensive network of irrigation canals provide favorable conditions for
agricultural activities. In the province, the agricultural products not only fulfilling the needs of Punjab,
but also supply to other parts of Pakistan and contribute to the national economy. These rivers have
brought developments in agriculture sector, while on the other hand, in summer the high discharge
overflow the levees and cause large scale damages to agricultural land and standing crops. In 2014,
more than 10 million acres of agricultural land were affected by flood and heavy damages recorded at
district Jhang followed by Muzaffargarh (Fig. 4). Flood water not only inundate the standing crops but it
also remained stagnant for many days in the agricultural fields which has further decreased the chances
of crop survival. In Punjab province, landholding is comparatively high and the farmers have high
acreage. The analysis reveals that in Punjab province the total affected farmers were 245, 116, out of
which highest ratio of affected farmers were registered in district Jhang and Muzaffargarh, respectively
(Fig. 5). It was found from the analysis that the total perished livestock were 754with the highest
numbers in district Gujranwala and Hafizabad (Fig. 4). Field survey together with the general
observations reveals that losses to livestock might be higher as some villages were remote and
inaccessibility were the major factor behind the poor reporting to the district government. In Punjab,
damages to major crops were estimated during flood 2014 from satellite images using GIS. The area
under different crops and the affected crop acreage was estimated in acres, whereas yield was
calculated in kilogram per acre. As a result, production losses were quantified by comparing the previous
year production per acre (Table 1). Among these, rice and cotton were the major affected cash crops
and here most of farmers rely on these crops for their livelihood earnings and meet their expenses. After
the detail survey of the flood affected areas by PDMA Punjab, it was found that flood affected cropped
area is more than the estimated. It was found from analysis that rice was the most affected crop in
terms of acreage followed by cotton. In terms of production losses, sugarcane was on top. The heavy
losses to sugarcane was mainly because the flood water remained stagnant for many days and as a
consequence severely affected the yield. Contrary to this, there was comparative less adverse impact on
rice production (Table 1). To overcome losses due to natural disasters, developed countries of the world
have adopted a policy of insurance but in Pakistan such and insurance policy is lacking.
Human Casualties and Affected Population

In the study area, a considerable number of human casualties were reported during 2014 flood. It was
found from the analysis that in Punjab province total number of human casualties was 185 (Fig. 6),
out of which the highest number of casualties (37)was reported from district Sialkot (Fig. 6). It was
mainly because the flood water rapidly overflowed the Sialkot city and in effect incurred maximum
casualties. Similarly, 23 human casualties was occurred in district Multan and 22 in district
Narowal. Over all, the human casualties are reported from 14 districts of Punjab province. It
was found from the analysis that the effective flood forecasting and early warning system in the
flood prone areas like Punjab province can largely reduce the human losses to a greater extent. In the
present scenario, the flood forecasting and early warning system at community level is the utmost
need of the day to minimize human sufferings. The land of Punjab province is mostly fertile
floodplain formed by the Indus and its tributaries. During rainy season when water overflow the
levees, it inundate to far up areas, which often results population displacement. Same was the
case when flood in 2014 has affected sixteen districts of Punjab province, displaced more than
2.3 million people and affected a total of 2,519 villages (Fig. 7). It was found from the analysis
that the number of affected population were high in districts Jhang followed by Sargodha,
Gujranwala, Sheikhupura and Hafizabad, respectively (Fig. 7).

Damages to Housing Sector

In Punjab province, the 2014 flood caused ravaging damages to the housing sector. According to PDMA
Punjab, the number of totally damaged houses was higher than the partially damaged houses. It was
estimated that approximately 97,824 houses were fully damaged and 3,691 houses were partially
damaged.. The highest number of damaged houses was reported from District Jhang followed by Multan
and Muzaffargarh districts (Fig. 8). This devastated situation specifically calls the decision makers to
take effective flood risk reduction strategies in the province and minimize the impacts of recurrent
flood disasters. To cope with such a menace, in future the government should also implement
building regulations and other structural mitigation strategies to prevent settlement developments in
the flood risk areas.

CONCLUSIONS

This study assessed the impact of the 2014 flood on socio-economic and housing sectors of Punjab
province, Pakistan. The 2014 flood was one of the most devastating disasters; it had severely affected
the socio-economic and housing sectors of Punjab. The flood occurred because of heavy and
prolonged rainfall in the catchment areas of all the rivers that drains throughout the province,
especially Jhelum and Chenab rivers had recorded the highest discharge beyond the channel capacity.
This analysis revealed that the flood of 2014 had brought a wave of destruction in 16 districts of
Punjab province and it had devastated socioeconomic condition of the entire population. The
analysis revealed that in the province more than 10 million acres of agriculture land was affected by
the 2014 flood. In Punjab province, the 2014 flood 2014 resulted in displacement of over 2.3 million
people and severely affected 2,519 villages. It was found from the analysis that in Punjab province
the total affected farmers were 245,116, out of which highest ratio of affected farmers were
registered in two districts, i.e., Jhang and Muzaffargarh. The analysis further revealed that
maximum damages to agricultural sector occurred in district Jhang, followed by district
Muzaffargarh. Additionally, the devastating 2014 flood also severely damaged the housing sector.
The analyzed data revealed that approximately

97,824 houses were damaged fully and 3,691 houses were damaged partially. As a consequence,
the provincial Disaster Management Authority had declared districts Jhang, Sargodha, Gujranwala,
Sheikhupura and Hafizabad as the most severely affected districts. This was mainly because, these
districts were seriously suffered by the flood 2014, which displaced millions of people and caused
severe damage to agricultural land and housing sector. The analysis further revealed that the 2014
flood had killed 185 people, out of which maximum was reported from district Sialkot. In
addition to this, thousands of livestock were also perished and it had caused colossal financial loss
worth millions of dollars to the country’s economy. Thus, this devastating incident call for
effective flood risk reduction strategies in the province.