The challenge
The Sindh Delta in southern Pakistan faces severe flood risks due to a combination of intense monsoon rains, rising sea levels, and reduced freshwater inflows from the Indus River. The 2022 floods in Pakistan caused catastrophic damage. The riverine pluvial flooding submerged one-third of the country, with over 1,700 people lost, 33 million displaced or affected, and in Sindh, more than 1.7 million houses damaged or destroyed. Extensive damage to infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and health facilities, further hampered relief efforts. Agriculture, a major economic driver in the region, was devastated as floodwaters inundated over 4 million hectares of crops, exacerbating food insecurity. Economic losses were estimated at over $30 billion
Our work
The Asian Development Bank Technical Assistance (190089: TA 54097-002 PAK) Sindh Coastal Resilience Sector Project (SCRP) will help reduce flood risks and build resilience of the local infrastructure and the people. The project area is the Sindh delta and coastal region of the districts of Thatta, Sujawal, and Badin. The proposed project comprises three outputs: (1) integrated water resources, drainage, and flood risk management solutions developed, (2) nature-based solutions for coastal protection restored, and (3) institutional and community capacity for strategic action planning strengtheneds
Our work included the development of the Integrated Flood and Erosion Risk Management (I-FERM) study, which includes site investigations, data collection, infrastructure review (levees, drainage and irrigation channels, barrages, dams etc), extreme coastal review, assessment of rainfall/flow/coastal extremes, development of detailed hydrodynamic models, calibration and validation, design testing of mitigation measures, and all quality assurance and reporting.
Identification and testing of strategic flood management investments, which include Dhoro (historic drain) restoration to improve flood conveyance, flood infrastructure improvements, removal of flood barriers (bridges, infrastructure etc) to ‘make way for the river’, restoration of wetlands, recolonisation of mangroves. Our models have spanned the entire Sindh Delta, from Sukkur Barrage to the sea. We have undertaken modelling of fluvial, pluvial and coastal flooding, tested interventions, participated within in-country missions, working with local teams, capacity building, workshops, and government presentations.
