Economic Impacts of Floods on Livelihoods of UC Agra District Charsadda

Abstract

The escalation in the frequency of natural disasters due to climate change has augmented the loss in life, damage to property and destruction of environment. People at risk, mostly those in the developing countries with high poverty levels have been growing by 70 to 80 million per year which makes them more vulnerable to disasters. The floods and torrential rains in the country have not only damaged agriculture crops, livestock, fisheries, and forestry, but have also destroyed primary infrastructure such as tube wells, water channels, household storages, houses, animal sheds, personal seed stocks/fertilizers, various agriculture machinery and equipment and many more. It has been estimated that the agriculture sector has experienced overall damages of about Rs. 429 billion cropped agriculture being 89 percent of these damages and losses. The main focus of this research study is to analyze the economic impacts of floods on livelihoods of the local community at District Charsadda (UC Agra). Data was collected through structure questionnaire, survey and key informant interviews. The study explored the economic impacts of floods on livelihoods of UC Agra on agriculture, livestock‟s, property and businesses. Gaps were identified and based on the findings of this study, remedial measures for mitigating these economic impacts have been proposed. Finally, outlined recommendations need to be adopted in order to overcome the key challenges on the economic impact of livelihoods after a disaster