Mitigating floods : reconstructing Lives : rehabilitating Thatta

Abstract

Pakistan was struck by floods in July 2010, the effects of which left 20.36 million people affected and 1.9 million homes damaged or destroyed'. In the province of Sindh in Pakistan, most of the affected population of the historic city of Thatta took refuge by fleeing to Makli Hill, a necropolis with mausoleums dating as far back as 1352A.D. The capital of three successive dynasties Thatta is famed for its cultural heritage and Makli Hill. Some four hundred thousand flood victims camped out on the hill most lacking any form of shelter. This thesis develops a framework for refugee camps and resettlement strategies that respond to and integrate the migratory trends of deltaic communities in the case of a flood event in an area with great cultural heritage. Taking into account different scenarios of flood disasters and recovery it aims to present an incremental, sustainable and transitional shelter program that local populations residing in flood prone areas of the Indus deltaic region of Thatta District can adopt in order to mitigate the effect of floods and hence reduce risk and vulnerability. The case of the Indus delta is particularly interesting because it requires a combined design strategy for the local phenomena of natural hazards and the global issue of climate change. The geographical importance of the site has been analyzed with respect to surrounding communities and primarily areas of relatively higher elevation, heterogeneous soil and water resources, and concentrated cultural heritage. The urban development of Makli Hill because of its geographic location and topographical characteristics is a highly likely and viable one as can be concluded from the transformation of Makli Hill to a site of refuge when floods affected the region. The thesis concludes with the proposal of the developmental growth of villages through small scale local productive landscapes so that communities can be partially self-sufficient and sustainable especially in times of flooding. The project is conceptualized in Thatta as a model approach that is transitional in nature and may be adapted by low-income communities residing in vulnerable locations in other deltaic/coastal regions in Pakistan, and wherever there is a conjunction of natural hazards, cultural heritage, and safe building opportunities worldwide.