According to Pakistan Meteorological Department’s (PMD) National Seismic Monitoring Center (NSMC) A strong earthquake in the Makran subduction zone on the coast of Karachi could trigger a tsunami.
The announcement came after an earthquake struck Gwadar and its environs on Tuesday night, with an epicentre 50 kilometres south of Gwadar and a depth of 25 kilometres in the Makran subduction zone.
“After a long time an earthquake of this magnitude has been reported in the Makran subduction zone and was felt from Gwadar to Ormara,” an official said.
The fear of a tsunami is looming over the coastal areas of Sindh and Makran, according to Amir Haider Khan, Director of the PMD’s National Tsunami Warning Center (NTWC). The Makran subduction zone, he continued, is “like a nuclear bomb” in the sea that “may erupt at any time.”
In 1945, a devastating tsunami in the coastal areas of Sindh and Makran caused by a big earthquake killed at least 4,000 people.
The subduction zone became active again after 1945, according to the official. He claims that it has reached the end of its natural time scale and that it could erupt at any time.
Gwadar and Makran, according to the NTWC Director, would be severely impacted if an earthquake in the Arabian Sea caused a tsunami.
“A tsunami might impact Karachi in a matter of minutes,” he said.
