Floods, Relief Aid, and Household Resilience
in Rural Pakistan:
Findings from a Pilot Survey in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Abstract: Based on a pilot survey conducted in early 2011, in ten villages in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, we analysed the damage caused by floods in Pakistan in 2010, the distribution of aid, and the extent to which households recovered from flood damage. Our findings are as follows. Flood damage within a village was disuniform. Aid from outside was distributed to households that had suffered larger damage to their houses than others, but not to households with large damage to land, crops, or other assets. Aid distribution was targeted slightly in favour of households with lower initial assets. With regard to recovery from flood damage, we found that recipients of aid did not show higher or lower recovery than non-recipients, especially in respect of damage to houses. This could be due to the mix of recovery-promoting aid and selective aid directed towards households for whom recovery was more difficult than others. We also found that households who had fewer initial assets and were hit by greater flood damage had more difficulty in recovering from the damage caused by floods.