A report issued by a United Nations sponsored exercise caused waves of fear and concern among the people of Karachi. The report was based on a test conducted to simulate an earthquake in the Makran Trench near the coast of Pakistan and the results were rather alarming.
The test was conducted to simulate a hypothetical 9.0 magnitude earthquake in the Makran Trench near the junction of the Arabian and Eurasian tectonics plates. The results showed that such an earthquake could create waves up to 23 feet high and could reach Karachi in 90 minutes. Waves of this scale had the potential to completely wipe out the city according to chief meteorologist Tauseef Alam who was supervising the test.
The report created a waves of concern among citizens of Pakistan’s largest and most populated city. Some of the fear was also caused by poor media reports which made it look like a tsunami warning had been issued and a tsunami was about to approach in reality.
However the test does serve as a wake up call for the people and especially the authorities of Pakistan who are often criticized for their incompetence in dealing with natural disasters. Such a disaster, should it occur God Forbid would have a serious casualty rate along with a huge impact on the nations economy. the authorities should pay attention to this report and carry out measures to improve the emergency handling systems of the city.