Trapped in Mountain Valleys: An Event Analysis of the 2022 Monsoon Floods in the Swat Valley, Pakistan
Floods, EP&R, DRM General, Infrastructure, NBS In mountain valleys around the world, people and their livelihoods are often squeezed between steep slopes and sediment deposits from past floods, which elevate the level of the riverbeds. In 2022, heavy rains and extended floods during the monsoon season caused tragic loss of life and great damage in Pakistan, including in the Swat Valley (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province), an area that faces recurrent floods including a major event in 2010. An analysis of the 2022 floods commissioned by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation revealed that watershed dynamics and the occupation of hazardous flood plains were the main drivers of risk prior to the disaster. The role of climate change could not be assessed by the study. At this technical session the event analysis was presented by its lead author Christoph Lehmann (Hydrologist, Lehmann Hydrologie-Wasserbau). The insights and lessons learned for building back better and reducing disaster risk were discussed with the audience and reflected on by DRR experts: Dr. Muhammad Shafique (National Center of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Pakistan), Naraya Carrasco (The World Bank) and Qaisar Imran (National Disaster Management Authority, Pakistan).
Flood event analysis are a useful tool to understand why floods have occurred, why and how they have caused damage and, most importantly, based on this assessment to identify measures to improve disaster risk management with a view to reduce the impact of future events. Floods of this magnitude are too powerful to be controlled by people in a narrow mountain valley like the Swat. And there is a high risk that climate change will increase the frequency and magnitude of future floods. Yet, based on the analysis and discussion at UR24, several useful measures have been identified to better protect the Swat Valley from flooding: • improve the collection and analysis of local data (including through further developing a network of hydromet stations; installation of multi-sensors for comprehensive floods/debris flow modeling and support early warning); • undertake multi-hazard, multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder vulnerability and risk assessments/mappings and develop corresponding policy guidelines for risk reduction; • enhance coordination along the river basin (river basin concept); • harness the potential of nature-based solutions for disaster management and climate resilience; • fight erosion through forest management and afforestation; • further strengthen local disaster risk management capacity taking advantage of the good national expertise available; • strengthen spatial planning, implementing existing laws such as the North-West Frontier Province Rivers Protection Ordinance 2001; • foster public awareness and involvement in the disaster management activities.
Organized by: Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA)
