Pak-China project: Seismograph network to be functional next year

Met Office will be able to identify various seismic zones in the country through the project.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan–China Seismograph Network (PCSN), a joint venture of Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) and China Earthquake Network Center (CENC), is likely to start functioning by the end of the current fiscal year.

Through this project, the Met Office will be able to identify various seismic zones in the country. The project will also provide information on the safety of infrastructure, civil engineering, housing and other socio-economic sectors in order to minimise damages and disasters associated with earthquakes. It will also provide the reliable advisory services to planners, builders and engineers, said a PMD official.



The estimated cost of the project is Rs184.395 million, of that, Rs23 million have been contributed by Pakistan while the remainder Rs161.39 million has been provided by China. The existing seismic network of PMD had become outdated with its detection capabilities decreased and the recorded data inadequate. There was a need for a new extensive seismic network that could provide source parameters of earthquakes in real time for mitigation of losses to life and property, the official said further.

The project aims at bringing about further improvements in safety of infrastructure, both in the public and private sectors by minimising damages due to earthquakes and associated disasters. It also includes dissemination of real time seismic information to authorities and end users, and promotion of disaster preparedness and a mitigation response system.

Under the project, seismic monitoring stations have been established at Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Islamabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21^st, 2014.