how would pakistan cope with a natural disaster hitting Karachi (which is its only major port city so far). I guess what i mean to ask is that do we have a disaster recovery plan that would go into action or are we just gonna run around aimlessly into directions of utter confusion as we usually do or maybe we would just rely on Abdul Sattar Edhi.
A scary thought provoking question, isn’t it. But then again, like othere major cities, people of karachi have great resilience and would definitely persevere but at what cost.
its really not that difficult to paint a picture in your head though, i mean about the scene of the utter devastation that might hit. So lets give it a shot.
the electricity is gonna get cut off immediately - which is not a surprise.
we wont be able to run our motors (the motor we run almost every alternate day to fill our tanks with water) and so no more water.
all the sewages (open and closed) would get flooded right away and so would the streets.
sanitation and transportation get affected bringin the city to a halt…
i guess i can go on with this by creating parables but then again would it make a difference to those on the high ups.
Lajawab, you have entered into a never ending debate...she will not be satisfied untill you give her the exact area with a map that describes the sq. km or sq.miles below sea level...if you dont, then you are a male pig
I think what Todd said is right, although I also read 4 meters figure. We can safely conclude that Karachi city is above sea-level and the New Orleans like scenario is very unlikely. But they need to have have better warning systems for tsunami, hurricanes or any other natural calamity. Pakistan, in the past, has faced many floods but I think they need to have better contingency plans especially for these unpredictabe or rare scenarios.
You're right PCG. Earthquakes can be more deadly in Pakistan's case. I think Indian tectonic plate cuts right through Pakistan. The areas in the north are more prone to quakes. If, God forbid, a major quake strikes Pakistan, we can be in deep trouble. We just have to see what happened in Turkey a few years ago where construction standards are probably no better than in Pakistan. In places like Japan and California they are at least aware of this aspect while erecting high-rise bulidings. In Pakistan nobody seems to be bothered about it.
safety measures can be implement for people living in lyari and malir area as water level usually raises in naddis there..as people live in kucchi abadis so water can be destructive..in 2003 heavy rainfall,people died in lyari and malir...
CIA Factbook about Pakistan gives these elevation extremes:
Lowest point: Indian ocean = 0 meter
Highest point: Mt. Godwin-Austen = 8611 meter
So, I'm assuming that no large areas (including Karachi) in Pakistan are below sea-level. But I'm not 100 percent sure as I have read in papers that *some *areas in Karachi are below sea-level. I also have read the figures of 4 meters and 22 meters above sea-level.
Here are elevation extremes for USA:
Lowest point: Death Valley = -86 meter (Note the minus sign here.)
Highest point: Mount McKinley = 6194 meter
Yes...do we have a disaster force in Pakistan to cope with natural or man made disasters...enough expertise...trained men...equipments and the funds...or should we create one...to my understanding...our Armed Forces are the first resort...but are they capable going and doing everything in no time...
PS: Its high time to think about this...because we will be encountering more and more disasters...
In addition to armed forces we have civil defence, of which I was a member during my college days. We used to conduct drills for similar disasters. We are not as third world as some of you might think.
i have yet to see a country with an effective disaster force. even first world countries can’t prevent disasters, death and destruction from happening and here u are asking about a third world country. how lame can you be. if u really are hell bent to know whether they have 1 or no then simple answer is yes and you can see it in the pictures and images, its the people who are helping out the ones who need it. :k: