Pakistan is also home to the longest and most active fault lines in South Asia, the Chaman Fault System (CFS). At least 900 kilometres long, this fault is responsible for the 1935 Quetta Earthquake, which ranks as one of the deadliest earthquakes to have ever hit South Asia. The Chaman Fault is currently moving at the rate of 8-10 millimeters a year. No activity has been witnessed in the north of the Chaman area in the last 115 years, which is a sign of enormous stress accumulation. Quetta has been calm for more than 75 years; however, there is tremendous pressure building beneath its surface. With Quetta being highly susceptible to earthquakes, it is appalling that we still do not have any emergency plans for the city. Almost 50 per cent of Quetta perished in the 1935 earthquake. While it was the Chaman Fault that triggered the Quetta earthquake, the Kashmir earthquake was a result of the collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates. However, the gravest geological bomb that now ticks is the Makran Subduction Zone (MSZ). Located in the Arabian Sea, this is the precise point where all three tectonic plates are active with each other. The ticking time bomb. - DAWN.
Posted on: Sat, 28 Sep 2013 09:21:31 +0000
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