Rising from the Waters: Sindh Navigates Recovery after the 2022 Floods

Pakistan witnessed its most devastating monsoon rains in 2022, resulting in severe flooding from June to September that submerged one-third of the country and affected 33 million people.

Among the hardest-hit areas was the southeastern province of Sindh, which is home to 50 million residents. As vast areas flooded, casualties rose to 799, and 4.4 million acres of agricultural land were destroyed. With collapsing infrastructure, the agriculture-reliant Sindh struggled to cope.

Spearheading Sindh’s recovery, the World Bank partnered with the Government of Sindh under the multi-sectoral Sindh Flood Emergency Rehabilitation Project (SFERP), to repair damaged infrastructure, create livelihood opportunities, and build long-term resilience against disasters.

Between October 2022 and January 2023, PKR 5.7 billion (approximately US$20 million) in retroactive financing was utilized for plugging and reinforcing 208 major breaches at bunds, canals, and drains, fixing pumps and motors, and rehabilitating small dams to restore functionality of the irrigation system.  

Immediate impacts included swift restoration of livelihoods, benefitting over one million low-income residents in the districts of Dadu, Jamshoro, and Kamber Shahdadkot. A key outcome was the rapid removal of floodwater, which reinstated mobility and revived economic activity.

Saaed Ahmad, a father of five who runs a tuck shop in Goth Arazi - a small village along the Indus Highway - reflected on his struggles and highlighted the impact of SFERP.

"During floods, the village had standing water for two-and-a-half months and my katcha house washed away. I could no longer run my shop and lost my monthly income (approximately US$70). To buy drinking water, food, and medical supplies for our children, we had to cross 17 to 20 feet of standing water to Sehwan, the closest city, via boats, and pay Rs. 500 per trip.” says Saeed Ahmad.

Explaining how relief cuts along the Larkana-Sehwan bund allowed water to drain into the Indus River, Saeed added, “After the work, electricity and gas was restored, medical staff was able to reach hospitals and my children could go to school after months. I started earning Rs.20,000 from my tuck shop to support my family.”

As most flooding occurred in rural areas where people lived below the poverty line and lacked crop or livestock insurance, SFERP activities were pivotal in rehabilitating communities. Rasool Bux, a sharecropper and father of ten from Qadir Bux village, earning less than US$2 per day, expressed gratitude for the timely interventions:

“I do not own land and work as a ‘haari.’ Farming, particularly wheat cultivation, is my sole source of income. The rains and floods completely devastated our homes and crops. Only a few of my goats survived. The relief cuts around Manchar Lake quickly drained flood water and I was able to cultivate 2.5 acres of land which I am now harvesting.”

To ensure sustainability and prevent adverse impacts on the environment and communities, an environmental and social audit of retroactive works was conducted in accordance with World Bank policies. Training of SFERP staff under the Bank-funded ‘Sindh Resilience Project’ helped ensure compliance with safeguard requirements.

By facilitating water drainage, SFERP also supported restoration of key transport networks and contributed to the revival of 760 fish farms in Jamshoro and Kamber-Shahdadkot.

Mohammad Mallah, a fisherman from village Maula Bux Mallah, Dadu, shares, “Previously we only had one specie ‘Talapia’. After the floods, we have fresh water and plugging of breaches has restored our fish farm, adding to the species we can fish. Now, I catch 10-20 kilos of fish every day. It sells for a good price, and I can earn an income for my family.”

Ghulam Mohammad, a resident of Manchar, owns a mobile shop. He recalls, “Timely plugging restored land travel to major towns like Sehwan and Bhan Saeedabad. This allowed me to take fish on my bike to major cities and sell it to earn an income.  As cultivation started on nearby farms, my mobile shop also attracted more customers.”

Where the floods caused massive destruction, the bumper crops for wheat and mustard this year serve as a silver lining. Timely dewatering and government subsidies encouraged wheat sowing on 350,000 acres of flood-affected agricultural land. Today, Sindh has harvested 3.6 million tons of wheat (higher than last year’s average), generating incomes for countless families.

Through its "build back better" approach, SFERP is integrating resilient features into reconstruction efforts, including strengthened embankments, increased capacity of regulators on Manchar Lake, and considerations for climate and disaster risks in infrastructure design. To ensure the judicious use of funds, SFERP has also established several oversight mechanisms, including multiple tiers of citizen feedback and the use of technology to monitor construction progress. It is hoped that such good practices will continue to be embedded in the Government’s broader development portfolio thus further bolstering long-term sustainability and resilience.

Amidst adversity and uncertainty, SFERP has offered a ray of hope and benefited over 3 million people. By saving lives, reuniting families, and restoring livelihoods, it has empowered communities to prioritize critical needs and regain their dignity. However, substantial work remains to be done in the medium- to long-term to achieve complete rehabilitation. With the continued focus of the World Bank and the Government on recovery and resilience, it is anticipated that the impact of SFERP will expand further in the coming years.

Note: Nihan Rafique, Ahsan Tehsin, and Farah Yamin Khan from the Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management Unit, World Bank Pakistan, have contributed to this feature story.