With rapid urbanisation being witnessed across the world, urban disaster risk management has gained a lot of attention during recent times. The absence of such an attitude in many cases has rendered megacities such as Karachi defenseless. Karachi, with a population of over 20 million, has unfortunately been at a fairly high position in the list of vulnerable cities globally. One such risk whose management seems inescapable is urban flooding.
Urban flooding is of course an unavoidable natural disaster but the risk associated with it is exacerbated by climate conditions — such as high intensity rainfall, high velocity winds, etc — and inadequate drainage systems. The location of urban settlements is quite critical in this context. Areas along the coast and riverbeds are eventually at higher risk. Karachi has thus been on the hit list so far as urban flooding is concerned. The lives and properties of dwellers have become highly vulnerable as a result. Moreover, despite the fact that the poor and less privileged communities are most affected, posh areas such as DHA too are no longer safe from urban flooding events. In order to reduce the damages associated with this, it is important to adopt an integrated approach to the problem.
Such a methodology includes: well-controlled residential as well as industrial constructions so that drainage channels are readily available; increased preparedness in terms of staff and machines; and community involvement to improve ownership of the city. It is also vital that instead of the prevailing short-term plans for managing these floods, long-term solutions are introduced to cope up with the increasing risk of destruction.
INTIKHAB ULFAT
KARACHI
