Geospatial Assessment of 2022 Floods in District Lasbela, Balochistan Province—Pakistan
摘要
According to Global Climate Risk Index Pakistan is ranked as the fifth most vulnerable country in the world to climate change, despite contributing very low global greenhouse gas emissions. Although Pakistan has been facing severe flooding events since its foundation, but the floods of 2010 and 2022 are considered to be the most devastating. In August 2022, one of the most severe flash floods in the history of Pakistan was triggered due to above-normal (590% more than the normal) monsoon rainfall in Balochistan. The present study aims to analyze and assess the impacts of the 2022 flood in the second most affected district from the most affected province Balochistan through geospatial and remote sensing-based datasets. Data was collected through different remote sensing sensors and from the Provisional Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National Flood Response and Coordination Centre (NFRCC), and other governmental agencies. Remote sensing data was utilized to identify the 2022 flood extent of the study area in the GIS domain. The geospatial results revealed that out of 34,90,177 acres of area, 47,912 acres area was under the extent of the flood. Along with losing livelihood, 21 people lost their lives and 2,16,726 livestock were lost. The damages caused to infrastructure by the 2022 flood in the study area include 970 houses, 250.55 km of roads, and 3 bridges. The ecosystem of the Hingol National Park and agricultural land were also damaged in the study area. The results of the study were validated with the available ground truth data. This study is critical for provincial and national authorities, organizations, and other government agencies for future policy formulation.