Twelfth Session of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System in the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Connected Seas (ICG/NEAMTWS-XII)

The Twelfth Session of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System in the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and connected seas (ICG/NEAMTWS) was hosted by the Geological Survey of Ireland from 16–18 November 2015, Dublin.

Participants of the ICG NEAMTWS-XII, Dublin, Ireland, Source: IOC-UNESCO

While tsunamis are less frequent in the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and connected seas than in the Pacific and Indian Ocean, the risk of loss of lives and economic disaster in the region is high due to strong population density and infrastructure development along its coasts. The ICG/NEAMTWS was established by Assembly of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) at its twenty-third session in 2005 by Resolution XXIII-14, with the mandate to coordinate the establishment of a tsunami early warning system for the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and connected seas.

Participants reviewed and affirmed the steady progress made in the implementation of the NEAMTWS since its initiation in 2005, particularly the progress achieved by the four Candidate Tsunami Service Providers (CTSPs) in France, Greece, Italy and Turkey. Greece informed ICG/NEAMTWS that its National Observatory of Athens (which acts as a Candidate Tsunami Service Provider) has applied for accreditation. The intention was expressed by France, Italy and Turkey for their respective CTSPs to also apply for accreditation in the next intersessional period.

The Group reviewed the NEAMWave 14 exercise which was conducted from 28-30 October 2014 and its contribution to the implementation of the tsunami warning system for the NEAM region by testing the system in both its up-stream, i.e. tsunami detection, and tsunami alert message delivery, and its down-stream, i.e. the reaction and response components. NEAMWave14, saw a significant increase in the participation of Civil Protection Authorities as compared to NEAMWave 12.

Following the success of the second tsunami exercise for the region, a full-scale exercise named NEAMWave17 is planned in 2017 to test the tsunami readiness of the system and of the Member States.

ICG/NEAMTWS also decided to start conducting quarterly Extended Communication Test Exercises based on a scenario event and encourages Member State Civil Protection Authorities to be involved.

ICG/NEAMTWS recognized the need to continue to exchange information with ICG of the Caribbean Tsunami Early Warning System (ICG/CARIBE-EWS).

The twelfth session of ICG/NEAMTWS was attended by 46 participants from 16 member states and one observer organisation. New officers of ICG/NEAMTWS were elected - Professor Ahmet Yalciner (Turkey) as chair and Dr Anna von Gyldenfeldt (Germany) and Dr Stefano Lorito (Italy) as vice chairs.

The Government of Romania through its National Institute for Earth Physics offered to host the thirteenth session of ICG/NEAMTWS in Bucharest from 26-28 September 2016.

Workshops on Post-IOWave14 Exercise Assessment and Standard Operating Procedures for Tsunami Warning and Emergency Response for India Ocean Countries

ICG/IOTWMS regional training workshops on post-IOWave14 exercise assessment and standard operating procedures (SOPs) were held in Hyderabad, India, 6-10 November 2015, hosted by the Government of India through the Indian Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS).  The workshops were attended by twenty-five participants from ten countries, namely: India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kenya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles and Tanzania.  The workshops were conducted by a team of seven trainers from Australia, India, Indonesia, the Indian Ocean Tsunami Information Center and IOC UNESCO.

The workshops targeted Indian Ocean countries that intend to participate down to community level including public evacuations in the IOWave16 exercise, which is scheduled for September 2016.  The main objective of the workshops was to develop and integrate SOPs between National Tsunami Warning Centres (NTWCs), National Disaster Management Organisations (NDMOs) and Local Disaster Management Organisations (LDMOs). 

The workshop programme included lecture sessions, breakout group work, a tabletop simulation exercise and a site visit to INCOIS, one of the three ICG/IOTWMS Regional Service Providers.  Lectures and training material were based on manuals and templates developed by IOC UNESCO in collaboration with the NOAA International Tsunami Information Centre (ITIC) since 2008. 

The workshops were followed by ICG/IOTWMS intersessional meetings of its Working Group 2 on Tsunami Detection, Warning and Dissemination and the IOWave16 Task Team on 12-13 November 2015.  

Revised Guidelines on Tsunami Risk Assessment and Mitigation for the Indian Ocean

The revised Guidelines on “Tsunami Risk Assessment and Mitigation for the Indian Ocean; knowing your tsunami risk – and what to do about it” have been published by IOC UNESCO.  The Guidelines are the 2nd edition of IOC Manuals and Guides No. 52, which was first published in 2009.  They have been compiled by an international group of tsunami experts with the benefit of new published and unpublished information. 

The Guidelines have been prepared as an activity of ICG/IOTMWS Working Group 1 on Tsunami Risk, Community Awareness and Preparedness as part of a project entitled: “Enhancing Tsunami Risk Assessment and Management, Strengthening Policy Support and Developing Guidelines for Tsunami Exercises in Indian Ocean Countries” for which IOC UNESCO secured funding from the UNESCAP Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Tsunami, Disaster and Climate Preparedness in India Ocean and South East Asia Countries.  Reports from this project, including the revised Guidelines, are available for download at: http://www.ioc-tsunami.org/trate_reports.

New material includes a chapter reviewing the current and recent initiatives in institutional risk assessment and management with in a disaster risk reduction (DRR) framework and a chapter addressing the rationale and key steps to be followed in the sequence of risk assessment and risk reduction procedures.  There is a new chapter on case studies, which provides summary accounts of strengths and weaknesses in the delivery of early warning for the major tsunami events in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean regions since the beginning of 2004.   Additionally, there is a new chapter on tools and/or methods associated with tsunami propagation models, post-event surveys, integrating inundation models into land use planning, risk-based land use planning, and community-based disaster risk management.

Creole tsunami awareness videos in Haiti

In the framework of the DIPECHO project “Consolidating Haitian capacities for tsunami early warning and preparedness” (April 2013 - December 2014) awareness materials were developed to complement the messages delivered by the guidelines. Three animated spots were developed with the Thematic Committee for Public Awareness and Education (CTESP) of the Government of Haiti, targeting the school community and the general public. These videos are in Creole. The European Commission's Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) disaster preparedness programme (DIPECHO) targets vulnerable communities living in the main disaster-prone regions of the world. UNESCO and its Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) are partners of DIPECHO.