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Coastal areas of Pakistan at Tsunami risk: study

* Disaster Management Authority plans emergency response drills in coastal areas

By Irfan Ghauri

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is among countries whose coastal areas are at risk from both local and regional tsunamis, a study provided by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Friday, adding the government needs to devise strategies to counter the threat.

According to the report, the Makran Range, with its 1,050km coastline along the Arabian Sea, covers about 400km in length and 250km in width. The area has active faults up to 700km deep that build up stress under the sea.

The study reveals that due to the stress, the districts of Badin, Gwadar, Karachi, Lasbela and Thatta were at the risk of a tsunami. It said the coastal areas of Pakistan had witnessed a tsunami in 1945, generated by an earthquake of magnitude 8.3 in the northern Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, that killed at least 4,000 people.

The study says the major causes of a possible tsunami included the presence of an active fault line in the Makran region, active seismic activity in the Rann of Kutch and a tectonic plate in Murray Ridge.

The NDMA said it had chalked out a comprehensive plan to hold emergency response drills in the coastal areas to create awareness among the local population about the tsunami threat.

An NDMA official told Daily Times that it would hold orientation sessions for key stakeholders regarding tsunamis and evacuation planning, train volunteers on emergency response and hold pilot evacuation drills to assess community response. He said the programme had already started in Gwadar in the first week of July, adding the NDMA would conduct similar activities in other coastal districts with the assistance of provincial and local authorities.

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