A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF NATURAL DISASTERS AND RESPONSE IN SINDH, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Climate change is the most important issue of the 21st century, the whole world is facing the consequences of climate change. Countries that are poor and have low capacity are always vulnerable to natural disasters. Many initiatives are being taken to improve the resistance power of communities affected by disasters. This study was conducted to analyze the utilization of funds and capacity to respond to disasters caused by flash floods in 2010. The study was conducted using key informant interviews and focused group discussions. A thorough qualitative analysis was conducted to understand the financial and technical initiatives taken by the government to respond to the disaster. The data were analyzed using simple thematic and content analysis methods. The study has identified the common threats of riverine floods in affected districts and the capacity of the local and provincial governments. The study has also analyzed the pre-disaster preparations and capacity of the government. Two districts were taken understudy from Sindh province one from the north and one from the south. The study found the obvious flood threat for the southern district was the left bank outfall drain hereinafter (LBDO). Whereas the potential flooding threat for the northern district was the river Indus. The study found that the existing government structure and community are not strong and prepare enough to face disasters. The study has identified capacity-building and preparation gaps at the levels of community and government. The study has identified the gap in managing and analyzing regular data and building a structure that facilitates on-time evidence-based decisions to reduce the impact of future disasters.  Article visualizations: