Urban Flooding Crisis Threatens Pakistan’s Economy, Warns Mian Zahid Hussain
Business leader urges the government to replace post-disaster relief with preventive climate resilience measures as recurring monsoon floods disrupt industry, trade and agriculture.
Mian Zahid Hussain calls for preventive measures to reduce the economic impact of urban flooding.
KARACHI — Urban Flooding has become a major economic emergency that demands long-term preventive policies rather than seasonal relief measures, according to Mian Zahid Hussain, President of the Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, Chairman of the National Business Group Pakistan, Chairman of the FPCCI Policy Advisory Board and former provincial minister.
Expressing grief over the loss of lives during the ongoing monsoon season, Mian Zahid Hussain said repeated flooding caused by heavy rainfall and climate change is paralysing economic activity across Pakistan. He said commercial centres, industrial units and transport networks are routinely disrupted, while electricity outages and damaged road infrastructure delay the movement of goods to ports and domestic markets.
More than 100 words into his assessment, Urban Flooding was described as a direct threat to Pakistan’s economic stability. Mian Zahid Hussain noted that Karachi’s floods in 2025 caused an estimated Rs14–15 billion in losses to the business community within two days, affecting more than 1,000 shops and warehouses. He added that the 2020 urban floods also resulted in estimated losses of Rs10–12 billion, highlighting the recurring financial burden of inadequate drainage and disaster preparedness.
Referring to the devastating nationwide floods of 2022, he said the official Post-Disaster Needs Assessment reported 1,739 deaths, while agriculture, livestock, fisheries and food sectors suffered around Rs800 billion in direct damage and nearly Rs1.986 trillion in wider economic losses.
Armstrong Tires Marks Pakistan’s First Premium PCR Tire Export to the US
He stressed that the destruction of cotton crops was particularly damaging because domestic cotton supplies meet nearly half of the textile industry’s requirements. The textile sector contributes almost one-quarter of Pakistan’s industrial production and accounts for more than half of the country’s merchandise exports.
According to Mian Zahid Hussain, flood damage extends far beyond farms. He said losses to cotton, sugarcane, rice and maize production affect ginning factories, spinning mills, sugar mills, rice exporters, transport companies and packaging industries, while shortages of livestock feed drive up the prices of milk, meat, poultry products and eggs.
He called on the government to establish a Monsoon Economic Damage Dashboard to provide transparent data on crop losses, damaged infrastructure, industrial disruptions, warehouse damage, delayed exports, road closures and electricity outages.
The business leader also urged authorities to conduct independent audits of urban drainage systems, accelerate drain cleaning and desilting, remove encroachments from natural waterways, improve pumping infrastructure and strictly prevent illegal construction on drainage channels.
He further recommended that industrial estates and export processing zones develop comprehensive flood-response and business continuity plans. He also called for emergency working capital support for flood-affected small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and expanded insurance coverage for crops, livestock and businesses.
Mian Zahid Hussain concluded that Pakistan must shift from a reactive disaster management approach to a comprehensive strategy focused on prevention, climate resilience and preparedness to safeguard lives, strengthen exports and protect long-term economic growth.
