THE RIVERINE FLOOD CATASTROPHE IN AUGUST 2010 IN SOUTH PUNJAB, PAKISTAN: POTENTIAL CAUSES, EXTENT AND DAMAGE ASSESSMENT

The paper investigates the causes, magnitude and damage caused by the flood as a result of the breaching of the east marginal embankment of the Taunsa Barrage. The flood frequency in the district of Muzaffar Garh located in south Punjab, Pakistan had serious impacts on human lives and their properties. To pursue this study, we used primary data, collected through questionnaire, formal interviews, field observations and secondary data, obtained through government departments and online open source databases. Furthermore, Landsat ETM+ imageries were used as input in the supervised classification in order to investigate the pre and post flooding land cover and land use. Hydrograph was used to analyze the flood limits and spatiotemporal change in river discharge for barrages. The results show an abnormal rainfall occurring in the month of July in the upper Indus Basin, which resulted in a massive discharge in the central Indus Basin. As a consequence, it exceeded the flood limits at the Taunsa Barrage, which resulted in the breaching of east marginal embankment. The flood caused a high number of human casualties and a total economic loss of 14.23 million US$ including a 6.8 million US$ agricultural loss. The study thus, gives insight on how authorities can devise a flood management plan in such a way to reduce the future impacts of riverine flood disasters in Muzaffar garh.