Abstract
This chapter presents a review of the tsunami risk posed to the southern coasts of Pakistan and Iran by potential earthquakes from the Makran subduction zone and also presents a structure for a regional tsunami warning system. Historical data of earthquake in the Makran region shows that the region is susceptible to large earthquakes which are capable of producing destructive tsunamis. Tsunami hazard in the region can be classified into three levels based on the sizes of the earthquakes used for tsunami hazard assessments: (1) characteristic earthquake with magnitude Mw8.1, (2) maximum regional earthquake with magnitude Mw8.3, and (3) worst-case earthquakes with magnitudes Mw8.6 and Mw9.0. The aforesaid earthquakes produce wave heights up to 7, 9, 10 and 18 m at the coastlines of the Makran region. We propose a tsunami warning system in the region based on seismic waveforms and using a database of precalculated tsunami scenarios. At least 2 deep-water tsunami gauges and 50 coastal gauges are necessary for tsunami understanding and warnings in the region. Any tsunami warning system in the region needs strong international cooperation between the countries in the region.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bernard EN (2005) Developing tsunami-resilient communities. Springer, Dordrecht, p 184
Byrne DE, Sykes LR, Davis DM (1992) Great thrust earthquakes and aseismic slip along the plate boundary of the Makran subduction zone. J Geophys Res 97(B1):449–478
Fritz HM, Kalligeris N (2008) Ancestral heritage saves tribes during 1 April 2007 Solomon Islands tsunami. Geophys Res Lett 35(1)
Fritz HM, Blount CD, Albusaidi FB, Al-Harthy AHM (2010) Cyclone Gonu storm surge in Oman. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 86(1):102–106
Heck NH (1947) List of seismic sea waves. Bull Seismol Soc Am 37(4):269–286
Heidarzadeh M, Kijko A (2011) A probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment for the Makran subduction zone at the northwestern Indian Ocean. Nat Hazards 56(3):577–593
Heidarzadeh M, Satake K (2014) Possible sources of the tsunami observed in the northwestern Indian Ocean following the 2013 September 24 Mw 7.7 Pakistan inland earthquake. Geophys J Int 199(2):752–766
Heidarzadeh M, Pirooz MD, Zaker NH, Yalciner AC, Mokhtari M, Esmaeily A (2008a) Historical tsunami in the Makran subduction zone off the southern coasts of Iran and Pakistan and results of numerical modeling. Ocean Eng 35(8 & 9):774–786
Heidarzadeh M, Pirooz MD, Zaker NH, Synolakis CE (2008b) Evaluating tsunami hazard in the northwestern Indian Ocean. Pure Appl Geophys 165(11–12):2045–2058
Heidarzadeh M, Pirooz MD, Zaker NH, Yalciner AC (2009a) Preliminary estimation of the tsunami hazards associated with the Makran subduction zone at the northwestern Indian Ocean. Nat Hazards 48(2):229–243
Heidarzadeh M, Pirooz MD, Zaker NH (2009b) Modeling the near-field effects of the worst-case tsunami in the Makran subduction zone. Ocean Eng 36(5):368–376
Kijko A (2004) Estimation of the maximum earthquake magnitude, m max. Pure Appl Geophys 161(8):1655–1681
McCaffrey R (2007) The next great earthquake. Science 315(5819):1675
Okal EA, Synolakis CE (2008) Far-field tsunami hazard from mega-thrust earthquakes in the Indian Ocean. Geophys J Int 172(3):995–1015
Okal EA, Reymond D, Hongsresawat S (2013) Large, pre-digital earthquakes of the Bonin-Mariana subduction zone, 1930–1974. Tectonophysics 586:1–14
Ozaki T (2011) Outline of the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku earthquake (Mw 9. 0)-Tsunami warnings/advisories and observations. Earth Planets Space 63(7):827–830
Page WD, Alt JN, Cluff LS, Plafker G (1979) Evidence for the recurrence of large-magnitude earthquakes along the Makran coast of Iran and Pakistan. Tectonophysics 52(1):533–547
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer Japan
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Heidarzadeh, M. (2015). Tsunami Risk, Preparedness and Warning System in Pakistan. In: Rahman, AU., Khan, A., Shaw, R. (eds) Disaster Risk Reduction Approaches in Pakistan. Disaster Risk Reduction. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55369-4_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55369-4_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo
Print ISBN: 978-4-431-55368-7
Online ISBN: 978-4-431-55369-4
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)