Economic effect of 2010 Flood & Rains

       Reports said that floods had cost more than 5.3 million jobs, stating that:

            "productive and labor intensive job creation programmes are urgently needed to lift millions of people out of poverty that has been aggravated by flood damage" . 

             Forecasts estimated that the GDP growth rate of 4% prior to the floods would turn to -2% to -5% followed by several additional years of below-trend growth. As a result, Pakistan was unlikely to meet the International Monetary Fund's target budget deficit cap of 5.1% of GDP, and the existing $55 billion of external debt was set to grow. 

            Crop losses were expected to impact textile manufacturing, Pakistan's largest export sector. The loss of over 10 million head of livestock along with the loss of other crops would reduce agricultural production by more than 15%. Toyota and Unilever Pakistan said that the floods would sap growth, necessitating production cuts as people coped with the destruction. Parvez Ghias, the chief executive of Pakistan's largest automotor manufacturer Toyota, described the economy's state as "fragile". Nationwide car sales were predicted to fall as much as 25%, forcing automakers to reduce production in October–2010 from the prior level of 200 cars per day. Milk supplies fell by 15%, which caused the retail price of milk to increase by Pk Rs 4 (5 US cents) per liter.

Some pictures of the flood areas:

Flood and rains in 2010

         The 2010 floods killed about 2,000 people and made 11 million homeless in one of Pakistan's worst natural disasters. One-fifth of Pakistan was then submerged in water, and the government faced a $10bn bill to repair damage to homes, bridges, roads and other infrastructure. The Islamabad government faced another major setback as floods caused heavy damage to the vital agriculture sector.

         

          Pakistan lost up to two million cotton bales, or about 13 per cent of its estimated crop, due to heavy monsoon rains during harvesting in Sindh,  as said by the government. Aid workers expressed fears over possible outbreaks of diseases linked to the new floods, especially among children which spread very fastly there in 2010.

         

          As a result of the floods in 2010 Pakistan faced major economic downfall as the prices of the commodities gone up due to shortage of production of crops creating misery for the homeless people. According to some reports, people who had migrated from such flooded areas are still homeless. Sigh....