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| Earthquake prediction secrets come close to be unlocked |
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Thursday, May 14, 2009
Our correspondent
Islamabad
The government is trying to develop a comprehensive national strategy to deal with natural disasters in a planned and efficient manner, said Minister for Defence Production Abdul Qayyum Khan Jatoi.
Addressing a seminar on ‘Earthquake Prediction and Various Measures’, organised by the Preston University here Wednesday, he said the government would definitely like to benefit through collaboration with the Disaster Research Institute of Preston University, which is engaged in conducting qualitative research in this field.
The experts at the Preston University have claimed that they have come closer to unlocking the secrets of earthquake prediction by uncovering a link between tiny, almost imperceptible, tremors deep inside the earth and devastating quakes.
Abdul Qayyum Jatoi said the earthquake and other calamities are serious challenges that may be difficult to deal with but not insurmountable. “The Pakistani nation and all public and private sector institutions must always remain prepared to face and effectively deal with catastrophic natural calamities,” he said. The minister said after the devastating October 2005 earthquake, the Balochistan province was hit by an equally destructive quake that brought down hundreds of houses and rendered thousands of people homeless.
The team of the Preston University is also working on another problem that is associated with the advent of earthquake when the signals of broadcast for TV sets, consumer radios or even hand radios and cellular phones are completely nullified with the result of non-functionally dead response of these sets showing no programme and thus no information of impending earthquake can be propagated through these communication channels. According to these experts, the dead response can perpetuate for hours before the advent of earthquake and therefore the Preston University is trying to convert this dead communication scenario as the precursor for the earthquake.
Earlier, in his welcome address Preston University Chancellor Dr. Abdul Basit said that the university was contributing towards national development through organisation of national seminars and conferences on important national and international issues.
Those who also spoke on the occasion included Dr. Imran Khan, director general of Geological survey of Pakistan and Prof. Dr. Abdul Razzaque Memon, director general of disaster research institute. The written material provided on the occasion stated that the new research by the experts of the Preston University pinpoints details by linking silent earthquakes to another kind of deep-earth tremors and the low-frequency earthquake, which can last as long as a couple of hours.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
