“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”

Climate change has emerged as one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century, and Pakistan is among the countries most vulnerable to its devastating consequences. Rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, and shifting weather patterns have transformed natural hazards into recurring disasters. Today, floods have become an unavoidable reality for Pakistan, displacing millions, destroying infrastructure, and crippling the economy. What is most alarming, however, is not only the scale of destruction but also the systemic failures in governance and preparedness that amplify these tragedies. Benjamin Franklin’s¹ timeless words echo a painful truth for Pakistan: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

In recent years, Pakistan has witnessed catastrophic floods that have reshaped the lives of millions. Entire villages have been swallowed by water, leaving behind shattered homes and broken communities. In Punjab alone, over 700 lives were lost during the recent floods, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported widespread destruction, with more than 2,000 villages submerged and 20 million people displaced². The scale of human suffering is immense, as families face homelessness, hunger, and the loss of livelihoods.

The economic losses are equally staggering. Agriculture, once described as the backbone of Pakistan’s economy has been drowned. Cotton, rice, maize, sugarcane, and wheat crops have been lost, forcing the nation to anticipate severe inflation. According to the World Bank’s Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA)³, the 2022 floods alone caused damages worth USD 14.9 billion, economic losses of USD 15.2 billion, and reconstruction needs of USD 16.3 billion. The 2025 floods are once again pushing Pakistan toward similar, if not greater, losses, with damages already crossing billions of dollars. Each time, the nation is forced to rely heavily on international aid, further exposing its lack of resilience.

While climate change is undoubtedly intensifying these disasters, Pakistan’s vulnerability stems equally from structural weaknesses. Weak governance, poor institutional coordination, and an absence of long-term water management policies have left the nation exposed. Instead of being stored, managed, and utilized productively, water is allowed to turn into a weapon of destruction. The lack of preparedness is evident in inadequate infrastructure, absence of basin-level planning, and insufficient flood forecasting systems. Furthermore, agricultural inefficiency has exacerbated water mismanagement, wasting resources that could otherwise mitigate the impact of disasters.

To prevent the recurrence of such large-scale devastation⁴, Pakistan must move from reactive relief measures to proactive planning. Strengthening water governance is the first step. Investing in mapping, modeling, forecasting, and information-sharing is critical to improve disaster prediction. Multi-stakeholder mechanisms for basin-scale planning need to be established, while provincial-level coordination is necessary to ensure equitable and efficient water allocation. Agricultural reform must be prioritized to improve water productivity, as this sector consumes the largest share of resources. Integrated management of surface and groundwater is required to reduce wastage, while strategic investment in water storage facilities and better reservoir operations can significantly reduce the damage caused by sudden floods.

Floods are no longer extraordinary events in Pakistan; they are becoming the new normal. Each wave of destruction displaces millions, wipes out livelihoods, and sets back development by decades. Yet, the tragedy lies not only in climate change but also in Pakistan’s failure to prepare. As Franklin warned, neglecting preparedness is preparing for failure, and Pakistan has already paid the price with billions of dollars in damages and countless lives lost. If the country is to break this cycle, it must shift from despair to determination. Building resilience requires vision, governance reforms, and collective responsibility. Without immediate action, floods will continue to write the same tragic story, year after year, drowning not just villages but also the nation’s hopes for a secure future.

~Arooj Khan Mukhtar~

Advocate Islamabad Bar Counci