PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has unveiled the provincial Disaster Management Plan 2026-30, declaring 10 districts highly vulnerable to floods, two to landslides and one each to snowfall and glacial lake outburst floods (Glofs).
It said the initiative was meant to protect the province from natural disasters and the impacts of climate change, strengthen the disaster management system and minimise potential losses.
According to the government, Lower and Upper Chitral districts are the most vulnerable to the highest number of natural hazards among all districts of the province and have been ranked highly vulnerable to snowfall, floods, landslides, Glofs and composite hazards. Likewise, Chitral, Buner, Swat, Shangla, Nowshera, Charsaddda, Dera Ismail Khan, Peshawar, Swabi and Mardan are highly vulnerable to floods and Mansehra to landslides.
Hazard profiling of the province contained in the report has declared that floods, earthquakes and climate change-induced hydro-meteorological events including drought, rain, snowfall and heatwaves are the risks faced by the province.
Says 10 districts highly vulnerable to floods, two to landslides
The report said that Kabul River and other key watercourses, such as the Indus, Swat, Chitral, Kunar, Siran, Panjkora, Bara, Kurram, Dor, Haro, Gomal and Zhob, intensified flood risk, primarily during the monsoon season. Also, this network of rivers, combined with rugged topography, accelerates runoff, deforestation and climate change, resulting in frequent floods that severely impact surrounding communities and infrastructure.
The report warned that with the onset of the climate change impacts of increasing temperature and changing patterns of precipitation, drought was emerging as a significant challenge for the agrarian economy, with drastic impacts on the food security of the province.
It said that the climatic projections anticipated further reduction in the rainfall that might lead to increasing and prolonged drought conditions and expansion in the deserts, mainly in Karak, Lakki Marwat, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan districts.
“Due to climate change impacts, the province is exposed to erratic shifts in the patterns and intensity of rainfall. The future precipitation outlook for the 21st century indicates that monsoon precipitation will increasingly dominate the region compared to westerlies. The northern and southern areas of the province are expected to experience higher aridity levels compared to the eastern and western boundaries, influenced by monsoon and westerly wind patterns,” it said.
The report said that due to climate change impacts, the province was facing a sudden rise in temperature, deviating from the historical records.
According to it, heatwaves affect the daily lives of the communities in the cities and trigger rapid melting of glaciers that lead to Glofs, flash floods and debris flow. The summers of 2022 and 2023 have experienced heatwaves in the province, triggering disasters in the mountainous north and halting the daily lives of communities in the cities.
The report also listed the climate change, population increase, unplanned urbanisation, encroachments, human displacement, weak early warning system, lack of awareness and limited health facilities as contributing factors to these climate vulnerabilities.
It also outlined 12 policy interventions supported by 83 strategic actions. They include operationalising the provincial disaster management system, digitalising the risk assessment database, developing disaster management plans at different levels, promoting climate-smart and disaster resilient sustainable development, strengthening multi-hazard early warning systems, enhancing training and research capacities, and engaging communities for reducing disaster risks.
Among other interventions are the strengthening of the emergency response management, establishment of a provincial disaster response force, promotion of disaster risk financing mechanisms, development of compensation strategies for disaster victims and the building of the capacity for post-disaster recovery were also among them.
The report also defined disaster management plan implementation mechanisms, including the establishment of the Disaster Management Plan Implementation Committee, regular revisions of the plan and a funding plan aligned with provincial budgetary allocations.
It also declared a timeframe for milestones to be achieved, with a monitoring and evaluation framework used to ensure accountability and track progress.
The report highlighted the importance of mobilising resources, inter-agency coordination and lifelong learning to cope with climate risks.
Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2025
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