Gwadar earthquake raises tsunami concern along Sindh-Makran coastal belt

KARACHI: An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale jolted Gwader and its surrounding areas Tuesday night raising concern of a tsunami along the coast of Balochistan and Sindh.

According to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre, the earthquake struck Gwader at 2:22 am. The epicentre of the earthquake was 50km away from Gwadar in the Arabian Sea at a depth of 20km. No casualty or damage of property has been reported so far.

Underscoring the need for preventive measures, Department (PMD) Director-General Muhammad Riaz said that his department had issued warnings many times about a strong earthquake in the Makran Subduction Zone. He said that any strong earthquake in the area could trigger a tsunami.

National Tsunami Warning Centre Director Amir Haider Khan said that a threat of a tsunami is looming over the coastal areas of Sindh and Makran. He maintained that the Makran Subduction Zone is like a nuclear weapon present in the sea and it can explode anytime.

He maintained that the Sindh-Makran coast had already faced devastation in 1945 when a strong tsunami was caused by an earthquake in the Makran Subduction Zone. Almost 4,000 people had been killed in the coastal areas of Makran due to the tsunami.

After 1945, the Subduction Zone has become active now as it has completed its natural time scale, warned the official. 

Gwadar and Makran would be the most affected areas if any earthquake triggers a tsunami in the Arabian Sea, he said and added: "The tsunami could also hit Karachi in a very short time."