Five-day tsunami modelling training for the Peruvian Navy Tsunami Warning Center conducted in Callao, Peru

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai (HTHH) volcanic eruption on January 15, 2022, and its subsequent tsunami posed a great challenge to tsunami early warning centres around the world. To improve preparedness to tsunamis, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, which leads the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (PTWS), organized a 5-day tsunami modelling workshop for the Peruvian Navy Tsunami Warning Center from 17-21 October 2022, held in the facilities of the Directorate of Hydrography and Navigation (DHN) in Callao, Peru.

Photo credit: DHN

The instructors for this workshop were Dr. Patricio Catalán, Professor at the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Chile, and Alejandra Gubler, PhD student and researcher at CIGIDEN, Universidad Católica de Chile. Both are experts with vast experience in tsunami modelling and early warning systems. In addition, several other invited speakers delivered presentations online. Dr Erick Mas, associate professor at Tohoku University, Japan, presented about tsunami-generating mechanisms. Dr Hermann Fritz, professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, spoke about volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. Finally, Dr Raphaël Paris, professor at the Université Clermont-Auvergne, France, shared about the physical mechanisms of volcanic eruptions and Lamb waves.

Overall, 38 participants from key Peruvian institutions such as the National Institute of Civil Defense of Peru (INDECI), the Peruvian Geophysical Institute (IGP), the San Marcos National University (UNMSM), the Peruvian-Japanese Center for Seismic Research and Disaster (CISMID), the National Center for Estimation, Prevention and Disaster Risk Reduction (CENEPRED) and the DHN, successfully completed the 40 hours of training, thus receiving their certificates at the end of the training.

Myriad topics related to tsunami modelling were discussed during the five day training, including pre-computed scenarios, inversion techniques from DART buoys and tide-gauges, and tsunami generating mechanisms such as volcanic tsunami sources. Seven hands-on activities were carried out to encourage individual modeling. Trainers highlighted participants’ active participation, enthusiasm, and capacity to model autonomously. Attendees were satisfied with the exchange of regional and international experiences as well as the topics covered during the course.

Lieutenant Commander Lorena Marquez Ismodes, Head of the Peruvian NTWC, stated: “For the DHN, the Institution that oversees the Peruvian Tsunami Warning Center, it has been highly gratifying to be able to host the Tsunami Modeling Workshop this October. It has allowed us not only to learn new technological tools to deal with the occurrence of a tsunami, and to consolidate the knowledge of the technical personnel of this Directorate and of the personnel of the Institutions of the Disaster Risk Management System, but also to reaffirm the commitment that we have, as an Institution, to face a tsunami event in the region and improve the decision-making of the authorities for the benefit of the coastal population”.

“We thank the IOC-UNESCO for making possible the organization of the tsunami modeling workshop, and all the participants who have successfully completed the workshop, we are sure that their knowledge will contribute and benefit our Tsunami Warning System”.