Regional guidelines for tsunami warning services, evacuation and sheltering during the COVID-19 pandemic are now available to ensure the safety of vulnerable coastal communities from ocean hazards while minimizing the risk of viral contagion.
Prepared by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), in consultation and collaboration with expert working groups within the Intergovernmental Coordination Groups (ICGs), the COVID-19 tsunami response guidelines provide specific instructions for each of the four regions covered by tsunami early warning systems: the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, and the North-eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean (and connected seas).
These guidelines aid to clarify possible confusion generated by COVID-19 sanitary priorities and regulations in regard to response actions during a tsunami warning such as evacuation and sheltering.
The Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) has launched a new website for their Tsunami Warning Center (CAT). The site is for the general public and the media and it contains information to understand the tsunami risk in Italy and in the Mediterranean. Several aspects of the tsunami phenomenon are described, from their causes and propagation, the warning and mitigation system, over to how to act in case of a Tsunami, and the coordination and liaison with the civil protection system.
The map on the Home page shows seismic events since January 2017 that have activated the national tsunami warning system. The colors of the symbols indicate the alert level: 1) Green: no alert / INFORMATION; 2) Orange alert / ADVISORY; 3) Red alert / WATCH. Mr Alessandro Amato, Head of INGV CAT informs that real-time alerts do not currently appear on the map. Presently alerts are transmitted both to the National Civil Protection Department, which distributes them in real time to the local and national authorities, and to the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean area that are subscribers of the CAT services (Spain, Portugal, France , Germany, Egypt, Israel, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Malta, Lebanon, the United Kingdom).
The new INGV Tsunami Warning Platform is available at the following link:www.ingv.it/cat
The NEAMTWS community and the Technical Secretary of ICG/NEAMTWS Mr Denis Chang Seng welcomed the new tsunami information platform. He also noted that there is a continuous effort among all NEAM Tsunami Service Providers in France; Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Turkey to upgrade their Tsunami Information Platforms to better serve the public in general.
The Tsunami Information Centre (NEAMTIC) website supports the development of the NEAMTWS and acts as the central platform in the NEAM region for information on warning systems, risks and good practices in respect of tsunamis and other sea-level related hazards for civil protection agencies, disaster management organizations, decision makers, schools, industries and the general public.
The annual tsunami exercise for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions, CARIBE WAVE, has been improving and validating tsunami readiness since 2011. The 2020 exercise took place on March 19, 2020 under very different circumstances than previous years. After months of regional and national preparation and planning, given the COVID-19 pandemic, the UNESCO IOC Intergovernmental Coordination Group for Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (ICG/CARIBE EWS) agreed to only test the communication lines at a regional level. It was left up to the Member States and Territories to decide if any additional activity would be carried out and whether to use the simulated messages for one of two tsunami scenarios: Jamaica and Portugal.
Despite the sudden change in scope of the exercise, CARIBE WAVE 20 was held successfully. The Regional Tsunami Service Provider, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, issued a “Dummy” message at 14h00 UTC to all officially designated Tsunami Warning Focal Points (TWFP) and National Tsunami Warning Centers (NTWC). Many methods of communication were used to disseminate the message: the World Meteorological Organization Warning Information System (Global Telecommunication Systems), the Aeronautical Information Replacement System (AISR), NOAA Weather Wire, AWIPS, Fax, Email and Social Media. According to feedback as well as social media and web posts, the dummy message was successfully received, validating the communication platforms.
Indonesia was hit by two destructive tsunamis in late 2018, which challenged traditional understanding of tsunami hazard, warning and response mechanisms. The first event was the Palu and Donggala tsunami of 28 September 2018, following the 7.5 magnitude earthquake in Central Sulawesi, that killed about 1,252 people. The second was the Sunda Strait tsunami of 22 December 2018, following an eruption and partial flank collapse of the Anak Krakatau volcano, that killed about 437 people.
In commemoration of the one year anniversary of the Palu and Donggala tsunami, UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) in collaboration with the Government of Indonesia through its Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs (CMMA) and Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG) organised an International Symposium on ”Lessons Learnt from the 2018 Tsunamis in Palu and Sunda Strait” at BMKG, Jakarta, Indonesia during 26-28 September 2019.
The Symposium highlighted that tsunami warning systems are always faced with the dilemma of time versus uncertainty. It is important to assess the possibilities and limitations of scientific knowledge and technology vis-à-vis the information needs of disaster managers, and make continuous improvements in both technical and social components of tsunami early warning systems.
To view the Summary Statement from the Symposium, please click on the image.
26 December 2019 marks the 15th anniversary of 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami that killed about 230,000 people in 14 countries in the Indian Ocean region. Commemorating this occasion, UNDRR produced a video highlighting the important elements and contributions of UNESCO-IOC, WMO, UNDP, UNESCAP and UNDRR in strengthening end to end people centred early warning systems. The video can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/J-Q4IZPJLxw
It may be recalled that the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami triggered the establishment of IOC-coordinated regional tsunami early warning systems in the Indian Ocean, Caribbean and Northeast Atlantic & Mediterranean, to join a system that was already operational in the Pacific. They operate as a globally integrated "system of systems" built on three pillars - tsunami risk assessment and mitigation; tsunami detection, warning and dissemination; and tsunami awareness and response.
The Indian Ocean Tsunami Warningn and Mitigation System (IOTWMS) is operational since 2013 with Tsunami Service Providers (TSPs) established by Australia, India and Indonesia providing tsunami forecast information to the National Tsunami Warning Centres (NTWCs) of 25 Member States in the Indian Ocean region.
In commemoration of 15 years following the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and the World Tsunami Awareness Day, UNESCO-IOC jointly with the Government of Indonesia organized the Indian Ocean Regional Workshop on “Strengthening Tsunami Warning Chain to Critical Infrastructure” during 20-22 November 2019 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Expert presentations during the workshop facilitated sharing of lessons learnt from Japan and Indonesia on the impact of tsunamis on ports, harbors and coastal airports, and best practices for enhancing tsunami preparedness within such critical infrastructure facilities. This was followed by moderated discussions to identify current status, challenges and actions needed to enhance tsunami risk knowledge, warning dissemination and communication, and preparedness and response capacities.