The recent tragedy in Swat, where 18 tourists drowned in the swollen Swat River, should shake every conscience in the country.
11 bodies belonging to same family from Punjab have been recovered, three people were rescued, and the rest remain missing as rescue efforts continue.
In response, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government suspended several officials: assistant commissioners, ADC Relief, and the local head of Rescue 1122. A formal inquiry has been ordered.
But let’s be honest, this is reaction, not reform. Suspending a few officials post-tragedy is an eyewash not a prevention strategy and accountability
Floods Are No Longer a Surprise, Our Inaction Is
Each year, floods ravage northern Pakistan and other vulnerable regions like southern KP, southwest Punjab, and Balochistan. These events have become routine.
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The underlying causes are well understood, from monsoon rains to glacial melts triggered by heatwaves. According to Germanwatch, Pakistan ranks #1 on the Climate Risk Index 2025.
So why are we always caught unprepared?
Despite repeated disasters, we still lack basic infrastructure like small dams, diversion channels, and community-level early warning systems.
Public alerts arrive late, or not at all, and people continue to treat rising river waters as harmless attractions.
Crowds gather to witness raging waters, unaware or dismissive of the danger. Social media from the day of the tragedy shows families standing precariously close to the riverbanks, even as water levels surged.
This isn’t just a failure of individual judgment, it’s a failure of public risk communication, awareness, and governance.
Beyond Suspensions: A Systemic Breakdown
The suspension of district officials may seem like swift action, but it sidesteps deeper questions.
Was there a disaster management plan for tourist-heavy areas like Mingora? Were hotel owners briefed to warn visitors? Were local residents and travelers informed through mosques, radio, or digital alerts?
The people already know the answers. There was no preparedness. And there rarely is.
Flash floods aren’t just bigger versions of regular floods. They are fast, violent, and destructive, often the result of steep terrain, encroachments, and deforestation. You can’t control them with a few sandbags. You need engineering, foresight, and behavior change.
Climate Change Is Already Here
This tragedy cannot be separated from the broader context of climate change.
Though Pakistan contributes less than 1% to global emissions, we face disproportionate impacts: melting glaciers, shifting rain cycles, and rising temperatures.
Yet our collective response remains shortsighted. We treat each disaster as an isolated incident, not part of a growing climate emergency.
This lack of long-term thinking is costing us lives—especially in rural, mountainous, and underdeveloped regions.
What Must Be Done
The government must treat climate resilience as a top-tier national priority, not a seasonal concern. This includes:
• Investing in reliable early warning systems in all flood-prone districts
• Building small reservoirs and diversion channels to manage runoff and rainwater
• Launching multilingual public awareness campaigns across TV, radio, and social media
• Enforcing strict safety protocols around rivers, especially during tourist seasons
• Integrating climate change education into school curricula and national discourse
These aren’t optional upgrades they’re urgent necessities. Every delay means more lives at risk.
A Wake-Up Call; Not Another Headline
The drowning of 18 people in Swat is a heartbreaking reminder of our fragility, but it’s also a reflection of poor planning, failed systems, and cultural complacency. These deaths weren’t just caused by water, they were caused by neglect.
We must stop pretending that floods are freak events and start recognizing them for what they are: symptoms of a worsening climate crisis and a broken response mechanism.
Let’s not allow this to become just another forgotten headline. Let this be a national turning point.
We owe that much to the victims. And to every citizen standing unknowingly in the path of the next flood..
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