Chapters authored
Challenges and Opportunities for Reducing Losses to Fast- Arriving Tsunamis in Remote Villages Along the Coast of Pakistan
Fishing villages in coastal Pakistan would need to respond quickly to escape a tsunami from nearby parts of the Makran Subduction Zone. A previous Makran tsunami, in 1945, took hundreds of lives in this coastal area. The majority of those fatalities took place along tidal creeks of the Indus Delta, where the parent earthquake was scarcely felt. Today, many of the Delta villages must be reached by boat, and telecommunication is difficult. These circumstances add to the challenge of their receiving timely warning of an incoming tsunami—whether it is the immediate natural warning from a felt earthquake or a subsequent official warning from government agencies. A study supported by Oxfam GB underscores this challenge. Ten remote coastal villages, each visited by the study team, were found to have limited links to official warning systems through landlines, mobile phones, and the Internet. Two cities, by contrast, have International Maritime Satellite Organization sirens that can be set off by satellite. In addition to technological solutions, partial remedies currently available include improved tsunami awareness, training about natural warnings, and land use informed by hazard assessments.
Part of the book: Tsunami
Dealing with Local Tsunami on Pakistan Coast
Tsunami originating from a local source can arrive at Pakistan coastline within minutes. In the absence of a comprehensive and well-coordinated management plan, the fast-approaching tsunami might wreak havoc on the coast. To combat such a threat, a wide range of short- and long-term mitigation measures are needed to be taken by several government and private sector organizations as well as security agencies. Around 1000-km coastline is divided administratively into two provinces of Baluchistan and Sindh and further into seven districts. Most of the coastal communities were severely affected by an earthquake of magnitude 8+ on 28 November 1945 followed by a devastating tsunami. In contrast to the level of posed hazard and multiple-fold increase in vulnerabilities since then, the risk mitigation efforts are trivial and least coordinated. It is important to provide stakeholders with a set of prerequisite information and guidelines on standardized format to develop their organizational strategies and course of action for earthquake and tsunami risk mitigation in a well-coordinated manner, from local to the national level.
Part of the book: Tsunami