PAKISTAN: Improving earthquake and tsunami early warning

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

ISLAMABAD, 16 Jun 2005 (IRIN) - Pakistan's Meteorological Department (PMD) is working to establish a better earthquake early warning system for the country in conjunction with the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA). The new system would be linked to the proposed regional tsunami early warning system.

"This network would help us improve seismological data recording regarding the epicentre, magnitude, depth, intensity and location of any earthquake," Dr Qamar-Uz-Zaman Chaudhry, head of the national meteorological department said on Thursday in the capital, Islamabad.

According to the Global Seismic Hazard Assessment Program (GSHAP), parts of southern Balochistan province in and around the capital, Quetta, stretching to the Afghan border and the Makran coastline right up to the Iranian border and the northern sections of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) are the most earthquake prone parts of Pakistan.

"The national seismological centre at the southern port city of Karachi will be linked with 15 well-equipped sub-centres to be set up at different places across the country," the official added.

A five-member mission from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the UN-sponsored Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) visited Islamabad this week to assess national earthquake and other natural disaster early warning capacity and means to extend further support.

"The expert mission was here, primarily to discuss the modalities of a sea-based early warning system being designed for this region including some 26 countries around the Indian Ocean," Chaudry said.

"The cost of the enhanced national seismological network of some 193 million rupees [US $3.21 million] would be met through our own resources [Pakistan government]. However, to link it to the regional tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean, the cost would be about $10 million, that would have to be met through international support," the official added.

Under the proposed Regional Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System for Indian/Pacific Ocean, "Every country would establish its own national centre responsible for issuing internal advisory that would be linked to a regional centre for which the place has not been decided as yet," Chaudhry said.

[ENDS]