Tsunami threat looms over Makran coast, Karachi: NTC

• National Tsunami Center director says Sindh and Makran coasts are at risk of a tsunami.

• 5.0 magnitude earthquake hits Gwadar and nearby areas.
• Epicentre reported below coast of Gwadar.

KARACHI: Tsunami threats loom over the Sindh and Makran coasts, the National Seismic and Tsunami Monitoring Center director said Wednesday, a day after an earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale jolted Gwadar and its surrounding areas Tuesday night.

The earthquake's epicentre was reported 50km away from the coast of Gwadar in the Arabian Sea and it hit at 2:22am Tuesday night, according to a geological survey.

Following the earthquake, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Director-General Mohammad Riaz said that PMD has repeatedly expressed the threat of a severe earthquake in the Makran subdivision zone. He said that any strong earthquake in the area could trigger a tsunami.

'Tsunami could hit Karachi soon'

According to National Seismic and Tsunami Monitoring Center Director Ameer Haider, a catastrophic tsunami hit the coast of Makran in 1945 and since then the disaster has now reached the end of its natural time scale.

He said the subduction zone in the Makran Sea is very active and strengthening. "The subduction zone is similar to having an atomic bomb in the sea that could explode at any moment," he continued.

In the event of a tsunami in the Arabian Sea, the coasts of Gwadar and Makran could be the worst affected, and the Tsunami could strike Karachi in the near future too, he added.

He stated that the Meteorological Department, together with all other responsible authorities, is preparing to deal with the natural disaster.