ISLAMABAD – The unprecedented water inundation of 2004 namely Indian Oceanearthquake and tsunami unveiled a new form of devastation to the world.
Pakistan”s coastal areas particularly the Makran Subduction Zone (MSZ) hadmajor tsunami threats that under went a destructive tsunamigenic earthquakein 1945 which caused over 4,000 casualties.
According to Director National Seismic Monitoring Centre, Zahid Rafi,“Subduction zones are places of high activity.
When two huge tectonic plates collide, the pressure and friction is greatenough that the material in the Earth”s mantle can melt, and bothearthquakes and volcanoes can result”, he told.
In December 2015, the UN General Assembly designated 5 November as WorldTsunami Awareness Day.
Zahid Rafi said it is pertinent to inform that National Seismic Monitoringand Tsunami Early Warning Centre set up by the Pakistan MeteorologicalDepartment (PMD) in Karachi with the assistance of UNESCO was running roundthe clock and efficiently performing Seismic monitoring.
He said keeping in view the vulnerability of country’s coastal areas ofSindh and Balochistan including Karachi city of 20 million people, PMDconducts awareness sessions and drills to educate people about thedeveloping stages of Tsunami flood and safety measures to be adopted .
Zahid Rafi said that Tsunami is basically an earthquake oriented disasteractivity that results into massive water outbursts which plays havoc in theshortest span of time in its approaching vicinity.
He said PMD, in collaboration with local community especially students,various non-governmental organizations (NGOs), disaster managementauthorities, Pakistan Navy and other concerned public departments holdsawareness workshops across the vulnerable areas.
“It gets difficult to reach schools and communities in remote areas due tolarge distance and scattered population.
Read Top Stories
It take 3-4 months for that purpose so therefore, Urdu translated bookletsand pamphlets bearing safety guidelines about Tsunami floods and itsdeveloping stages are distributed among the masses of that area forawareness.
” To a question, he said, “According to our systems’ calculations apossible Tsunami wave would take 22-23 minutes to hit Gwadar area and reachKarachi in 3-4 hours with reduced magnitude as compared to the one hittingthe earlier.
” He informed that the department uses maximum technology for themonitoring and early Tsunami Warning which is based on monitoring stationshaving advanced sensors and global positioning system (GPS) that aresubmerged in the ground.
New GPS have been bought from United States of America to be installed inGwadar, Pasni, Ormara and Jiwani, adding, which would be installed within amonth or two after survey by PMD teams, he said.
NDMA”s Member Operations Brig Mukhtar Ahmed told APP that the Authorityhas formed a comprehensive Tsunami Plan under its National DisasterManagement Plan based on Tsunami disaster risk management and mitigationwhich has been share with all stakeholders including Pakistan Navy, ArmedForces, Coast Guards and Provincial Disaster Management Authorities(PDMAs), United Nations offices and Universities and is under theirconsideration.
He informed that NDMA conducts awareness workshops and drills with theassistance and cooperation of UNDP and its various offices associated withdisaster management and other donor organizations in various schools ofBalochistan and Sindh provinces that are vulnerable to Tsunami.
He added that Pakistan Navy, Armed Forces, Coast Guards and ProvincialDisaster Management Authorities (PDMAs) are also the main stakeholdersduring the process.
Brig Mukhtar informed that last year safe evacuation and awareness drillswere organized with the collaboration of PDMA Sindh and Balochistan andother partner organizations in the vulnerable areas, adding that theTsunami Plan will be made public after the final approval of the relevantstakeholders has been prepared with the assistance of a special from UNDP.- APP
