Pakistan to participate in tsunami mock drill

Purpose of exercise is to increase preparedness, evaluate response capabilities and improve coordination in region

Pakistan will take part in a mock drill next week to increase preparedness and to evaluate response capabilities to minimise risks in case of a potential tsunami threat.

According to Radio Pakistan, the country will join over 20 other nations around the Indian Ocean Rim as a participant in mock tsunami scenarios being held on September 7 and 8. The purpose of the exercise is to increase preparedness, evaluate response capabilities in each country and improve coordination throughout the region.

In this regard, Pakistan will exercise the Makran Trench scenario on 8^th of the current month. The aim is to exercise all levels of the tsunami warning and response chain, with a primary focus on the local coastal community level.



Strong earthquakes in ocean beds can trigger massive tsunamis which cause huge loss of life and property to the coastal cities. In 2004, a huge undersea quake had triggered a tsunami that killed more than 170,000 people in Indonesia’s Aceh province on western Sumatra island and tens of thousands more in other countries with coasts on the Indian Ocean.

In 2011, a devastating earthquake followed by a tsunami that flattened Japan’s northeast coast and a subsequent explosion at a nuclear plant left over 19,000 people dead.