'Port to suffer most in case of mishap'

Experts have expressed concern that seismic activity at the belt puts the site at a high risk of earthquakes in future

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) has proposed to set up two new nuclear power plants near the coastal belt. Experts have expressed concern, however, that seismic activity at the belt puts the site at a high risk of earthquakes in the future.

At a session titled, 'Understanding the seismic and tsunami risks for the Karachi reactor site', architect Arif Belgaumi spoke at length about the seismic activity at Makran Coast and the possible consequences on the nuclear plants.

According to Belgaumi, Karachi lies at the junction of Asian and Indian plates that collided millions of years ago. Added to this is the upward thrust of the Arabian plate that increases Karachi's susceptibility to earthquakes in the near future.

"It is important that seismic history of the region is documented. The Bhuj earthquake of 2001 is evidence that the likely effects of an earthquake are not restricted to a confined area," he said.

Columnist and journalist Khurram Husain explained a hypothetical situation in the event of a nuclear reactor accident and its impact in a 15km radius westward. Marking the Karachi port and Orangi settlements as two sites of high impact, he said that a solid evacuation plan should be the utmost priority. "Since the port deals with the transportation and storage of petrol and furnace oil, the consequences will reach the rest of the country in no time," he said, adding that the food supply chain would be most likely hampered knowing that the life of perishable items is no beyond than six days.

As the discussion moved towards the absence of a chain of command to deal with evacuation, Belgaumi pointed out that the movement of people from Orangi alone will be equal to the migration witnessed at the time of partition.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2rd, 2015.