Successful Caribbean test demonstrates progress in regional tsunami readiness

Over 44,000 people from 30 Members States and 15 of the territories* in the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions participated in the second full scale regional tsunami exercise held on March 20, 2013. The goal was to test the Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (CARIBE EWS), which was established in 2005 by the countries of the region in collaboration with UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), ensuring that the national focal points responsible for the dissemination of the alert and first responders receive timely warning.

The exercise was initiated with a first dummy message issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) and the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WC/ATWC), at 13:02 UTC (9:02 AST) and disseminated over its standard broadcast channels to all its stakeholders and focal points. The message was issued according to schedule to the official Tsunami Warning Focal Points, and none of the institutions have reported issues with the reception of the message from the Tsunami Warning Center.

The Puerto Rico Seismic Network and other national and regional organizations also issued messages for its areas of responsibility. Sirens, emails, emergency alert systems, text messages, media outlets, NOAA weather radio, and social media were used by many focal points to further disseminate the messages. In addition to the communication tests, exercises were conducted at various additional levels of magnitudes and sophistication and included seminars, table top exercises, video/web conferencing and drills.   

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UNESCO: Building Equitable, Inclusive Green Societies

“Achieving genuine sustainable development calls for more than green investment and low carbon technologies. Besides its economic and ecological dimensions, the social and human dimensions are central factors for success. Ultimately, we must focus our efforts on building green societies.” 
Irina Bokova, Director-General, UNESCO.


Click here for more on UNESCO's support for sustainable development and Rio + 20, The Earth Summit.

U.S., Caribbean to test tsunami warning system

"Following the devastating tsunami that struck Japan, the U.S. and 32 other countries are preparing to participate in the first full-scale simulated tsunami alert exercise in the Caribbean, UNESCO says.

"Caribbean countries will receive an alert concerning a fictitious earthquake of 7.6 magnitude off the coast of the U.S. Virgin Islands."

Read more of the South Florida Business Journal article!


Read the UNESCO news article on the simulation!

Check out the UNESCO tsunami program!

The University of Puerto Rico provides this great video on the threat of tsunamis in the Caribbean.

UNESCO and CTBTO sign agreement to benefit disaster mitigation and capacity-building in developing countries

Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, signed an agreement on 3 February with Tibor Tóth, Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), to enhance cooperation between the two organizations, notably for the benefit of tsunami early warning systems and capacity-building in developing countries.

The verification regime of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) uses cutting-edge technologies and scientific methods to monitor the planet for nuclear explosions. The resulting data offer a wide range of civil and scientific applications. The CTBTO also organizes workshops, seminars and other training activities around the world.

Read more of the ReliefWeb article!

FIVE years after the tsunami in the Indian Ocean

Before the tsunami of December 2004, there was no system in the Indian Ocean to warn coastal populations of imminent danger. Now, five years later and following intensive efforts by twenty-eight governments around the Indian Ocean and a huge international drive coordinated by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, a regional end-to-end tsunami and multi-hazard warning system is firmly in place.

Read the report of the effort to create a tsunami early waring system!

The UNESCO/IOC global tsunami website

The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO was established in 1960 and has successfully coordinated the Pacific Tsunami Warning System (PTWS) for the Pacific Ocean since 1968. After the Sumatra tsunami on December 26, 2004, the IOC received the mandate to help all UNESCO Member States of the Indian Ocean rim to establish their own Tsunami Early Warning System (IOTWS).

At the same time IOC began coordinating the establishment of similar Early Warning Systems (EWS) for tsunami and other ocean-related hazards in the Caribbean (CARIBE-EWS) and the Mediterranean and Northeast Atlantic Ocean and connected Seas (NEAMTWS).

To provide immediate interim coverage for tsunami warnings in all other oceans, advisory systems have been established under the aegis of the IOC of UNESCO, in cooperation with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) from the USA and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) from Japan.

The UNESCO/IOC global tsunami website is a one-stop resource for all tsunami-related information.

Atlantic Tsunami Early Warning System

The Intergovernmental Coordination Group (ICG) of the Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System in the North Eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean and Connected Seas (NEAMTWS) will meet in Lisbon (Portugal) from 21 to 23 November to take stock of progress on the system’s development. The meeting is organized by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and the Government of Portugal.

Click here to read more about the UNESCO initiative.

Tsunamis: Monitoring, Detection, and Early Warning Systems

Read the report of the Congressional Research Service, which discusses tsunami early warning systems for the United States, with references to UNESCO's International Oceanographic Commission.

Summary:

Some in Congress are concerned about the possible vulnerability of U.S. coastal areas to tsunamis and about the adequacy of early warning for coastal areas of the western Atlantic Ocean. This stems from the December 26, 2004, tsunami that devastated many coastal areas around the northern Indian Ocean, where few tsunami early warning systems currently operate. Caused by a strong underwater earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, the earthquake and ensuing tsunami together are estimated to have claimed as many as 300,000 lives. Affected nations, assisted by others, are pursuing multilateral efforts through the UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) to develop a regional tsunami detection and warning network to alert coastal populations around the Indian Ocean. Those efforts coincide with President Bush's plan for upgrading and expanding U.S. tsunami detection and early warning capabilities, which was released in December 2005. Some developed countries bounded by the Indian Ocean already have operating tsunami warnings systems. However, in some areas of these and in neighboring countries, there is no emergency management infrastructure to receive tsunami warnings. Local officials are incapable of rapidly alerting the public to evacuate or to take other safety precautions. However, most disaster management experts assert that an emergency management infrastructure is not just issuing tsunami warnings but also educating indigenous people and visitors about the potential dangers in the area; communicating evacuation options clearly; adapting to potential risks through construction of public shelters; conducting periodic evacuation drills; and producing tsunami inundation maps for guiding future land-use planning. Although the cost of the expanded network for the United States will run into millions of dollars for instrumentation and long-term maintenance, some suggest the benefits would far outweigh the costs. Others have questioned whether the risks of tsunamis outside the Pacific Basin justify the investment. To leverage costs international science agencies have suggested that global or regional warning networks be built upon existing ocean data collection systems, marine data buoys, tide gauge networks, coastal and ocean observation networks, the global seismic network, and use international telecommunications systems. Still, a global tsunami warning system would be most useful in countries that also have expansive national emergency management capability. President Bush pledged $37.5 million for upgrading the U.S. tsunami early warning system through 2007, which would expand a network of 10 deepwater tsunami detection buoys now operating to 32 for the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea. P.L. 109-13 provided emergency appropriations for FY2005 to procure, deploy, and maintain a comprehensive U.S. tsunami early warning network, and is supplemental to FY2006 appropriations. Tsunami-related legislation in the 109th Congress would support long-term systems operations and maintenance, public education, and modes of adaptation. Administration officials and some in Congress consider an upgraded U.S. system a first step toward building a global tsunami warning capability. This report will be updated as warranted.

Breakthrough on continuous seismic coverage to detect tsunamis in Europe

At a meeting organized by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission last month, Italy announced that it will provide non-stop processing and coverage of seismic data in the seas around Europe. This data is essential for the detection of earthquakes that potentially generate tsunamis, and could significantly boost protection of Europe’s heavily developed and populated coastlines.