KARACHI, Nov 22: Insisting that there are numerous faults around Karachi, a senior geologist has stressed the need to regulate constructions in the city according to a building code with seismic specifications.

Ali Hamza Kazmi, ex-vice chairman of IUGS-Unesco (international geological correlation programme), also urged the Defence Housing Authority and the Clifton Cantonment Board to stop building highrises in coastal area. He was speaking at a meeting of the Defence Associations’ Coordination Committee on Tuesday.

Mr Kazmi, also author of five books on geology, said the threat of a tsunami here was very remote as there was no submersible fault in the sea nearby. He added that the area’s history also did not support tsunami theories.

The general secretary of the DACC, Aziz Suharwardy called for setting up a proper seismic network for monitoring sub-surface activity in the area up to 60 kilometres from Karachi.