New Delhi
24 September 2005
The next tsunami, whenever that occurs, could be generated
by an earthquake in the Arabian Sea, warns India-born Dr Tad Murty of University of
Ottawa, Canada.
The adjunct professor of civil engineering, who was in New Delhi for the recently
concluded India-Canada Technology Summit, told this newspaper that there is therefore
a need for the states on the western coast like Gujarat to take adequate care.
"Pakistan can also learn from India," he observed and went on to cite the complete lack
of awareness in Pakistan in general and military establishment in particular to the
phenomenon called tsunami.
He said the tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean rim, which is expected to
become operational in September 2007, could benefit not only the states on the coast but
also countries in the Indian neighbourhood.
In August 1883, the Krakatoa volcano exploded in Indonesia, sending tsunamis far and
wide and changing world climate. Another tsunami struck south of Pakistan in the Arabian
Sea on November 27, 1945.
The director of Hyderabad-based National Geophysical Research Institute, Dr VP Dimri,
said the government has allocated Rs 125 crore to the Department of Ocean
Development to set up the warning system.
The NGRI and the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, also in
Hyderabad, are working towards setting up of the warning system and also collaborating
with international agencies in this regard.
He said a "science document" was being prepared in addition to a "travel time atlas" in
collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, which contains basic
information about tsunami.
The last tsunami struck on December 26 last year, which caused widespread
devastation in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and parts
of Kerala.
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