The 2022 floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan: an assessment of the impacts on the Afghan Refugees

The 2022 floods in Pakistan have been disastrous for the country, as they have impacted almost all the provinces of Pakistan. This paper investigates the impacts of the 2022 floods on the residents of Kheshgi refugee village in district Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which was vulnerable and exposed to the floods. It had devastating impacts on people’s lives. It was thus important to investigate its impacts on the Afghan refugees in the Kheshgi refugee village. The study focused on the impacts of the infrastructure of the refugee village, economic impacts, impacts on the people’s livelihood, psychological and physical impacts, impacts on the women, children, and PWDs, and environmental impacts. The paper explores the lived experiences of Afghan refugees in times of crisis and natural disasters such as floods. The data was collected through in-depth interviews with the flood-affected people of the community who have faced the 2022 flood impacts and from the staff of the humanitarian organisations that have provided support to the affected people. The findings of the study reveal that the 2022 floods impacted all aspects of the Afghan refugees’ lives in the Kheshgi refugee village, which brought various hurdles and challenges for the community people.