Eighteenth Session of the NEAMTWS Held in Paris, France. Praise for NEAMTWS Advances Amidst Emerging Challenges

The Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System in the North-Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Connected Seas (ICG/NEAMTWS) met in Paris, France for its 18^th Session on 6–8 February 2024. A key highlight was the election of new ICG/NEAMTWS officers Mr Alessandro Amato, Italy as the new ICG/NEAMTWS Chairperson and Mr Amr Hamouda (Egypt), Mr Ignacio Aguirre Ayerbe (Spain) for vice Chairpersons for the period 2024-2025. High on the agenda was the status of implementation of UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme, with Cannes (France) becoming the first recognized Tsunami Ready community in NEAM region. The meeting also hailed the finalization and publication of the ICG/NEAMTWS 2021-2030 Strategy Document as an IOC Technical Series and Brochure; the conduction of regional tsunami exercise (NEAMWave23); the new approved two-years Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG-ECHO) funded CoastWAVE Project Phase-II. The group decided to establish a new task team on non-seismic tsunamis and plan the next regional tsunami exercise in 2025.  

Leer más...

New Informational Materials to Support Tsunami Awareness and Response and the Implementation of the Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme in the NEAM Region

The Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the North-eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean, and connected seas Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/NEAMTWS) introduces new informational products to contribute to the implementation of the Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme in the NEAM Region and ICG/NEAMTWS 2030 Strategy, with a specific focus on Pillar 3 on "Awareness and Response" of an Effective Early Warning and Mitigation System. 

The newly introduced products include: 

1. “Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme (TRRP)” Brochure: providing a brief overview TRRP in the NEAM region, particularly outlining the 12 indicators to be achieved by communities to become “Tsunami Ready”. 

Leer más...

Seychelles Disaster Risk and Management Preparing for Tsunami Ready

The UNESCO-IOC Indian Ocean Tsunami Information Centre (IOTIC) conducted National Tsunami Ready Training in Seychelles during 21-24 November 2023. The training workshop reviewed the UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme with a view for adoption and implementation in Seychelles. Forty representatives from both national and local governmental organisations participated in the training.

The Seychelles Disaster Risk and Management Division (DRMD) hosted the event at the Seychelles Trading Company (STC) in Victoria, Mahe Island. UNESCO-IOC and the Government of Indonesia funded the training, through the Partnership Agreement between UNESCO-IOC and the Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG; 2023-2027).

Participants at Seychelles Tsunami Ready Training, Victoria, Mahe,21-24 November 2023.

The workshop was officially opened by the Minister for Local Government and Community Affairs, Minister Rose Marie Hoareau, following the welcome remarks of Prof Dwikorita Karnawati, Chair of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWMS) and Head of BMKG, and Dr Alexandros K Makarigakis, the Director of UNESCO Office Nairobi.

The training was led by IOTIC in contribution to UNESCO-IOC’s effort to ensure a safe ocean for ever-more resilient coastal communities, with specific objectives: 1. To introduce and promote the UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme (TRRP) and 2. To initiate the implementation of the TRRP in Seychelles.

Leer más...

Remembering the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in Seychelles

UNESCO-IOC's Indian Ocean Tsunami Information Centre (IOTIC) jointly with UNDRR's Africa Office and the Disaster Risk and Management Division of Seychelles conducted eyewitness interviews for the “Preserving Past Tsunami Information for Future Preparedness” initiative in conjunction with the National Tsunami Ready Training in Seychelles held on 21-24 November 2023.

Interviews with eight eyewitness of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami were conducted in two districts affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. In Anse Royale, Mahe Island six survivors were interviewed including Leonne Florentine, Denis Meringo, Melvin Robert, Patrick Gilbert, Marie Yvonne Roucou, and Nazreen Alibhaye, and in Grand Anse, Praslin Island two survivors were interviewed including Dixson Lespreance and Marcel Andre.

“It was 26 of December, a holiday, that afternoon, I was planning to bring my children to the beach. Just before we left, I got a phone call from a relative telling me to turn on the television. There was an announcement for the people to stay away from the beach because of a phenomenon that happened in Indonesia, and a wave is traveling through the Indian Ocean. We cancelled going to the beach, as my house is on a hill, we can see the beach below, I saw the wave coming and out the beach, which was very not normal at that time,” Leonne Florentine of Anse Royale, Mahe Island.

Leer más...