Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), under an UN-backed initiative, conducted Tsunami rescue drill for awareness of locals at southern disaster-prone coastal belt of Jewni, some 60 kilometres from port city of Gwadar, in Balochistan.
Thousands of residents including women and children left their houses and rushed to a school, situated on a high altitude place, soon after rescue ambulances blared Tsunami warning sirens in town streets during the mock exercise. The school was declared relief camp only for women and children while the men were shifted to tent makeshifts built nearby, thus maintaining Baloch traditions of separate arrangements for male and females.
The exercise simulated a local Tsunami of more than 8 magnitude and the volunteers as well as the district management had 18 minutes for evacuation of population and other rescue operations. Under the practice, registration of all persons in camps was ensured, besides food and protection facilities for them and later two capacity building sessions were also held, one each for women and men, in local Balochi language to create awareness among them regarding hazards of Tsunami.
"Please keep in mind that Tsunami unlike common sea cyclones you experienced or heard about. It is more dangerous and can destroy towns. It had happened in coastal areas of Indonesia a few years back where town turned into graveyard. Therefore, whenever we all have to take it serious and do what we learnt today instead of getting into panic during such situation", said a mentor Manzoor Baloch during his orientation address to the participants.
He told them that local Tsunami was generated after 18 minutes following powerful earthquake so the coastal residents should rush to safer places even if local rescue teams fail to alert them or reach due to road blocking or any other untoward incident. A powerful tsunami, triggered by a submarine earthquake of 7.8 magnitudes on Richter Scale had completely destroyed nearby Pasni town on November 28, in 1945.
NDMA says that the project aimed at strengthening the Coastal Hazards Early Warning System in Pakistan, with focus on Tsunami and mitigation. The project follows multi-pronged approach covering end-to-end system by addressing the need to strengthen institutional and legal arrangements including governance and development of coastal hazard Early Warning System, Chaudhry Muhammad Irfan, spokesman of the NDMA, said.
He said that local community, fishermen, and households living along coastal areas of Gawdar, Lasbella, Karachi, Thatta and Badin districts, besides port authorities and district administrations would be sensitised in the next phase of the project. Earlier, district police officer (DPO) Gawadar Ghulam Ali Lashari said that the district administration including police and management authorities had greatly benefited from the sensitisation activities organised by the NDMA.