To commemorate the World Tsunami Awareness Day 2023, the webinar on Fighting Inequality for a Resilient Future [in the context of tsunamis], was jointly organised by the UNESCO-IOC Indian Ocean Tsunami Information Center, Intergovernmental Coordination Group for Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWMS WG-1 and WG-3), and the Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics of Indonesia (BMKG). The event attracted over 100 participants with many from the Indian Ocean region.
Mrs. Maki Katsuno-Hayashikawa, the Director of UNESCO Jakarta, and Prof. Ir. Dwikorita Karnawati, the Chair of ICG/IOTWMS and Head of BMKG, provided opening remarks. Experts from the Indian Ocean region shared their experiences on a) How to create accessible tsunami early warning for all; b) Research, development, and implementation plan for the Ocean Decade Tsunami Programme; c) Early warning for remote populations from Maldives; and d) Early warning for people with disabilities from Indonesia. BMKG announced preliminary plans for the second Global Tsunami Symposium to be held in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, during November 2023. Closing remarks were provided by Mr. Rick Bailey, Head of the ICG/IOTWMS Secretariat.
Photo: On 4 May 2000, Mr. Wowok saved lives in Palam Village, Banggai Island, Indonesia by alerting member of his community to the tsunami after seeing the incoming wave. Despite being deaf and speech impaired, he used his arms to show that a tsunami was coming and get people to evacuate to higher ground. Right before the six-meter tsunami wave hit, the villagers reached the hill, safe from harm.
The ocean-wide tsunami exercise Indian Ocean Wave 2023 (IOWave23) was conducted during 4-25 October 2023. The exercise consisted of three tsunami scenarios generated by earthquakes in the Andaman, Makran, and Java trenches, and one further scenario of a tsunami generated by a volcanic eruption on Heard Island in the Southern Ocean. All 25 active Member States of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWMS) were separately placed under tsunami threat during one or more scenarios.
At least 19 ICG/IOTWMS Member States including Australia, Bangladesh, France (Indian Ocean Territories), India, Indonesia, Iran, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, and United Arab Emirates participated in one or more scenarios. Countries activated their national tsunami warning chains and Standard Operating Procedures with the participation of National Tsunami Warning Centres (NTWCs), Disaster Management Organisations (DMOs), other relevant authorities, first responders, and media.
Community evacuation drills were conducted in at least seven countries, including India, Indonesia, Iran, Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, and United Arab Emirates. The exercise focused on inclusivity (all genders, those with disabilities, youth, and elderly) connected with the central theme of World Tsunami Awareness Day 2023 of “Fighting Inequality for a Resilient Future”.
In the pursuit of enhancing the tsunami preparedness of coastal communities, the IOC/UNESCO together with the Seismology Team at the Geological Survey Department of Cyprus, organized between 26-27 September, 2023 a workshop focused on developing tsunami evacuation maps for Larnaka, a coastal town that aspires to attain UNESCO IOC Tsunami Ready status by mid-2024.
This essential workshop, a constituent of the IOC EU DG ECHO CoastWave project, facilitated constructive engagement with relevant stakeholders, including Cyprus Civil Defense. The event leveraged local expertise and experience, allowing stakeholders to validate the evacuation base map while also identifying potential challenges linked to the mapping of tsunami evacuation routes and assembly areas.
Participants of the workshop
Countries around the North-eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Connected Seas (known as the NEAM region) are gearing up for a tsunami communication test and response exercise scheduled for 6 and 7 November 2023. This exercise coincides with World Tsunami Awareness Day, celebrated annually on 5 November.
Shutterstock
The 30th session of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/PTWS), an international expert group under the aegis of UNESCO, showcased significant strides in tsunami preparedness and disaster prevention for the Pacific region.
Key takeaways from the meeting include several initiatives and activities to enhance coastal communities' safety and resilience.
Expanding Protection and Vigilance
Participants initiated efforts to strengthen the capabilities of the Steering Committee, aligning them with the goals of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 (the Ocean Decade). This move aims to fortify the protection of coastal communities, ensuring their readiness in the face of potential tsunamis.
Recognizing the growing and increasingly complex challenge of tsunami hazards, the group increased the number of Vice-Chair positions to three, signifying an understanding of the scale of the tasks ahead in improving monitoring and preparedness capabilities in the region.
La côte indonésienne, entre Banda Aceh et Meulaboh, au lendemain du tremblement de terre et du tsunami du 26 décembre 2004. Photo Evan Schneider © UN Photo
L’UNESCO aide les États membres à renforcer leur capacité d’évaluation du risque de tsunami, à mettre en œuvre des systèmes d’alerte rapide aux tsunamis et à mieux préparer les populations exposées. Elle travaille étroitement avec les organismes nationaux et favorise la coopération
interorganismes et régionale. Des centres régionaux spécialisés fournissent une information relative aux tsunamis, laquelle, assortie d’une analyse nationale, constitue la base des alertes publiques. En outre, l’UNESCO encourage des démarches fondées sur les populations, à la base, par le biais de l’élaboration de plans d’intervention et de campagnes de sensibilisation qui impliquent fortement les établissements éducatifs et l’utilisateur final.