SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS OF THE 2022 FLOODS IN BALOCHISTAN: A REVIEW-BASED PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

One of the most devastating natural disasters in the modern history of Pakistan was the 2022 floods, and the province of Balochistan became one of the worst-affected provinces. This systematic review is a compilation of supporting evidence of 45 peer-reviewed articles, institutional reports, and governmental documents located in Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar to analyze the socioeconomic consequences of the floods in Balochistan. The five dimensions that are reviewed are agriculture and livestock, poverty and economic loss, infrastructure and housing, public health, and psychosocial well-being. The results indicate that nearly 96.7 percent of crops were lost in the severely hit areas, over 500,000 animals died, which has shattered the livelihoods and food security of households. Average levels of poverty increased by a figure of 5.2 to 5.4 percentage points, which increased the existing disparities. Destruction of infrastructure, especially roads, bridges, and houses, suspended economic activity and hindered humanitarian assistance. The floods also caused significant social health crises such as malnutrition, waterborne disease outbreaks, and mental health crises, especially to the marginalized population groups like women and children. In addition to the short-term harm, such as the shortcomings of disaster preparedness, the absence of any effective infrastructure, and the inadequate institutional coordination, this review points to systemic vulnerabilities as the primary points of amplifying the impact of the disaster. The results suggest a pressing need to incorporate the idea of climate adaptation, social safety nets, and community-based disaster risk management into provincial policy systems. Notably, the review presents a research gap in longitudinal and evidence-based research that assesses the long-term socioeconomic and psychological recovery patterns in low-resource areas at risk of floods, like Balochistan.