The city of Karachi, with a population of approximately 20 million people, sits near the convergence of the Eurasian, Arabian and Indian tectonic plates, making it an area particularly prone to seismic disturbances. According to experts in seismic occurrences Karachi may be the only city that has all the odds gathered to prepare a mega disaster in case of earthquake. Dense population, violation of building laws and a history of earthquakes being on fault line.
Past record shows that over 50 earthquakes of magnitude of 8 and above have been reported in around 75 years along the coastline of Pakistan. Of these, four were accompanied by tsunamis, in 1919, 1943, 1945 and 1956.
In January 2012, when a 7.2 earthquake hit close to the town of Dalbandin in Balochistan, Karachiites felt strong tremors despite the fact that Dalbandin is 400 kilometres from Karachi and that the epicenter was 80 kilometres underground.
Poor quality steel products used during construction have been blamed for the collapse of thousands of structures during a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in central Philippines last year. Philippines' authorities believe that there was a widespread use of substandard bars and angle bars in the construction of residential structures and public buildings such as markets and bridges that couldn't resist the earthquake resulting in loss of hundreds of humans.
"Yes Karachi is on the fault line and prone to earthquake disaster, said Engr Syed Jamshed Rizvi, president, The Institute of Engineers Pakistan. "That means buildings must be strong enough to resist shocks with use of specific building materials such as steel and cement as basic."
Currently, two types of steel is available in market, he said, one made properly from the steel bars manufactured by proper steel mills and the other one is made out of different kind of steel scraps including the scrap we get from ship breaking yards of Gaddani. Buildings especially the high rises should not use substandard steel in city like Karachi, which could prove to be very damaging in case of a strike by Mother Nature, Rizvi said.
"In Pakistan laws to regulate building standards are there, but the implementation is questionable," said Rizvi. "Engineers, architects and builders must perform their duty and keep every kind of unforeseen scenario while constructing buildings even if authorities are not enforcing the rules and regulations".
It's not as if the laws don't require such measures. After the 2005 earthquake, further seismic provisions were added to the Pakistan Building Code 1986, making it compatible with the 1997 US Uniform Building Code. But there remains a huge gap between legislation and implementation. Like many laws it mostly remains fulfilled on the papers, said a source in Karachi Building Control Authority with request of anonymity.
He said every day apartment buildings and plazas keep coming up, and you would be surprised to find a single builder who even knows what earthquake protection is all about. Most apartment buildings do not have any precautions for earthquakes.
Philippines Senator Bam Aquino based on their finding said use of below-par steel products were responsible for many deaths in the October 15, 2013 earthquake that struck the island provinces of Bohol and Cebu.
The earthquake killed at least 222 people and injured 976 as victims were struck by falling structures and debris. Aquino, chair of the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship, said the number of lives lost and people injured would not have been that big, had the structures been more solidly built.
According to sources, despite the fact that Pakistan's major cities like Karachi, Islamabad and Quetta lying on major earthquake fault lines, Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) is showing criminal negligence by allowing production and marketing of un-approved and sub-standard steel bars in the country.
PSQCA is not enforcing the approved quality standards in steel production and marketing and authority is also issuing temporary release certificates against import of non-licensed steel bars from non-certified foreign steel manufacturers.
Allowing the usage of substandard steel bars in the construction of mega infrastructure projects of national importance to general household construction in a seismic zone like Pakistan results in collapse of infrastructure and buildings as has been witnessed at countless times in the country.
According to PSQCA standards, ASTM 615, 706 and BS4449 are the only allowable rebars to be used in construction activities providing safety to infrastructure. He warned the architects to take quality standards very seriously as poor quality construction materials, especially steel material can lead to serious accidents resulting in major lives loss which can lead to legal actions against builders, developers, and pose unwarranted risk to the lives of innocent residents living in buildings.