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Strengthening Tsunami Warningand Emergency Responses:

Training Workshop on the developmentof End-to-End Tsunami Standard Operating Procedures

Organized by the UNESCO IOC - NOAA

International Tsunami Information Center

for Member States of the

Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation SystemUnited NationsEducational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization

IntergovernmentalOceanographicCommission

The InternationalTsunami InformationCenter

National Oceanicand AtmosphericAdministration

Course Manual 2008 - 2011

Tsunami Early Warning System Overview

www

.tsunamiwave

.info

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September 201

UNESCO-IOC

Strengthening Tsunami Warning and Emergency Responses:

Training Workshops on the Development of End-to-End Tsunami Standard

Operating Procedures (SOPs)

COURSE MANUAL PACIFIC OCEAN

DETAILED TABLE OF CONTENTS

Tsunami Early Warning Systems

(Electronic files in Tsunami Support Docs)

1. Tsunami Early Warning System: Overviewa. End-to-End Tsunami Warning An Overviewb. Tsunami Science and Modelling Essentialsc. A Global Tsunami Reduction Strategy: Building Effective Tsunami Warning and

Mitigation Systems (Nov 2007)

d. Guarding against tsunamis: What does it mean to be ready? (Geotimes, Nov 2006)e. End to End Tsunami Warning - Stakeholders, Roles and Responsibilities, Standard

Operating Procedures, and their Linkagef. Tsunami Warning Centres An Overviewg. Global Tsunami Warning and Advisory Message Productsh. 10 Steps to Enable a Successful Tsunami Emergency Response; Glossary Disaster

Management Organisationsi. Concept of Operations for End-to-End Tsunami Response and Standard Operating

Procedures for Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation Systemj. Types of documentation to support Global Tsunami Warning Systems and/or

National Tsunami Warning Centre and Tsunami Emergency Operations Centreoperations

k. Developing Early Warning Systems: A Checklist (ISDR, EWC III, 2006)l. End-to-end Tsunami Warning Considerations: Public Alert Systemsm. Tsunami Education and Awareness


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END-TO-END TSUNAMI WARNING AN OVERVIEW

September 2008 (updated 2011)

UNESCO IOC Tsunami Unit (Paris, Hawaii (ITIC))

The overview summarizes end-to-end tsunami warning. In event time, it covers activities for event

monitoring, detection, threat evaluation and warning, alert dissemination, emergency response, andpublic action. An effective tsunami warning system is achieved when all people in vulnerable coastal

communities are prepared to respond appropriately and in a timely manner upon recognizing that a

potential destructive tsunami may be approaching. Meeting this challenge requires round the-clock

monitoring with real-time data streams and rapid alerting, as well as prepared communities, a strong

emergency management system, and close and effective cooperation and coordination between all

stakeholders.

To warn without preparing, and further, to warn without providing a public safety message that is

understandable to every person about what to do and where to go, is clearly useless. While alerts are

the technical trigger for warning, any system will ultimately be judged by its ability to save lives, and

by whether people move out of harms way before a big tsunami hits. Towards these ends, education

and awareness are clearly essential activities for successful early warning.

End-to-end tsunami warning involves a number of stakeholders who must be able to work in

coordination and with good understanding of each others roles, responsibilities, authorities, and

action during a tsunami event. Planning and preparedness, and practicing in advance of the real

event, helps to familiarize agencies and their staff with the steps and decision-making that need to be

carried out without hesitation in a real emergency. Tsunami resilience is built upon a communitys

preparedness in tsunami knowledge, planning, warning, and awareness.

All responding stakeholders should have a basic understanding of earthquake and tsunami science,

and be familiar with warning concepts, detection, threat evaluation, and alerting methods, and

emergency response and evacuation operations. The key components, requirements, and operations

to enable an effective and timely warning and evacuation are covered in the following topics of end-to-end tsunami warning:

Tsunami Science and Hazard Assessment Tsunami Disaster Reduction Strategy, and community-based disaster risk management Stakeholders, Roles & Responsibilities, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and

their Linkages

End-to-end Tsunami Response and SOPs Tsunami Warning Centre (TWC) operations Tsunami Emergency Response (TER) operations Public Alerting The Role of Media Evacuation and Signage Use of Exercises to Build Preparedness Awareness and Education

To ensure the long-term sustainability of a tsunami warning system, it should be noted that:

Tsunamis should be part of an all-hazards (natural and man-made) strategy. System redundancy is required to ensure reliability. Redundancy needs to be built in. Clearly understood TWC and TER public safety messages are essential. Media

partnerships for warning, as well as preparedness, are important.

Awareness must be continuous forever. Tsunamis are low frequency, high impact naturaldisasters that are also unpredictable.

National, provincial, and local Tsunami Coordination Committees ensure stakeholdercoordination and implementation of the end-to-end tsunami warning.


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For specific details and algorithms and for actual descriptions of tsunami warning and emergency

response operations, including data networks and data collection, methods of evaluation and criteria

for action, products issued and methods of communication of alerts, and evacuation, original source

references or plans should be consulted. These are the high-level system descriptions or concepts of

operation, agency operations manuals, and users guides of each regional and national system.

Basic references providing a comprehensive summary on tsunami warning centre and emergency

response operations considerations are:

IOC Manual on Tsunami Warning Centre Standard Operating Procedures (Guidanceand Samples), version 2010 (distributed as part of SOP capacity building).

IOC Manual on Tsunami Emergency Response Standard Operating Procedures (Guidanceand Samples), version 2010 (distributed as part of SOP capacity building)

For a description of the Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Caribbean systems, as provided by the Japan

Meteorological Agency, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and/or the West Coast / Alaska Tsunami

Warning Center), consult the system IOC Technical Series documents. These are:

PTWS Operational Users Guide (version August 2011), IOC Tech Series 87 IOTWS Users Guide for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System

Interim Tsunami Advisory Information Service (version April 2007), IOC Tech Series 72 Communication Plan for the Interim Tsunami Advisory Information Service to the

Caribbean Sea and Adjacent Regions (version July 2006)

General information of the IOC global tsunami warning systems and on tsunami mitigation and

preparedness can be accessed at:

IOC: http://www.ioc-tsunami.org IOC ITIC: http://itic.ioc-unesco.org or http://www.tsunamiwave.org

Training Resources:

In order to assist countries in strengthening their warning systems, the IOC has compiled and

developed a Training Manual containing reference, best practice, decision support tools, and

guidance materials summarizing key components, requirements, and operations to enable an effective

and timely warning and evacuation against tsunamis. The materials were developed under the lead of

the ITIC and in close partnership with experienced practitioners in tsunami warning and emergency

response, and have been used in numerous training courses since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

The Manual includes session plans, lectures (in Powerpoint), exercises, and multi-media materials.

Together, they represent part of the IOCs collaborative contribution to national capacity building

and training on end-to-end tsunami warning and tsunami standard operating procedures to countries

of the Indian Ocean, Pacific, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean.

For more information, please contact Laura Kong, Director, ITIC ([email protected]), Tony Elliott,IOTWS Secretariat ([email protected]), Bernardo Aliaga ([email protected]).


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TSUNAMI SCIENCE

(modified from Annex I, PTWS Operational Users Guide, version 2010)

I.1 TERMINOLOGY"Tsunami" is the Japanese term meaning harbor wave. As such it is most descriptive of the observed

phenomenon sometimes referred to as tidal wave or seismic sea wave. In South America, the term"maremoto", or moving sea, is frequently used. However the word "tsunami" is most commonly

accepted by scientists and by most of the lay public in Pacific basin countries.

Tsunamis can be categorized as local, regional, or ocean-wide, with those terms being used to

describe the extent of potential destruction relative to the tsunami source area. Local tsunamis are

those with destruction generally limited to within about 100 km, or within one hour tsunami travel

time from their source. They can be generated by earthquakes but are often associated with

submarine or subaerial landslides or volcanic explosions. An extreme example of a local tsunami is

the one that occurred on July 9, 1958, at Lituya Bay, Alaska. Wave run-up exceeded 485 meters but

the destruction was confined to a very limited area. Destructive local tsunamis with runups of no

more than a few tens of meters are more common.

Regional tsunamis are those with destruction generally limited to within 1000 km, or 1-3 hours

tsunami travel time from their source. Destruction may be limited in areal extent either because the

energy released was not sufficient to generate a destructive ocean-wide tsunami, or because the source

was within a confined sea.

Ocean-wide destructive tsunamis are much less frequent, but still occur a few times each century.

Such tsunamis can have disastrous consequences because their source area is large, initial wave

heights are great, and even distant coastal areas are subject to impact. The Pacific-wide tsunami of

May 22, 1960, spread death and destruction across the Pacific from Chile to Hawaii, Japan, and the

Philippines. The Indian Ocean-wide tsunami of December 26, 2004 killed nearly 230,000 people

stretching from northern Sumatra, Indonesia near the source across to Africa.

I.2 TSUNAMI GENERATIONA tsunami is a series of very long ocean waves usually formed as a result of a large-scale vertical

displacement of the sea over a short duration in time. Gravity returns the sea to equilibrium through a

series of oscillations or waves that propagate outward from the source region. Most tsunamis are

caused by vertical displacements of the seafloor associated with the occurrence of great earthquakes.

However, tsunamis can also be generated by submarine volcanic eruptions, by the movement of

submarine sediments, by coastal landslides, and even by meteor impacts.

Earthquakes are the most common cause of tsunamis. While tsunamis threaten lives and property in

coastal regions around the world, they are most commonly a hazard near subduction zones,

particularly along the Pacific Rim. As one plate dives beneath the other in a subduction zone, strain is

generated at the interface of the two plates. That strain is eventually released during an earthquake

and the offset forces the overlying water to swell and generate a wave. Large (M >7.5) and shallow

(at or near the seafloor,


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Tsunami-producing landslides can occur on and offshore, but are less common than the earthquake

generated tsunamis. A subaerial rockslide in Lituya Bay, Alaska in 1958 generated a 525 m local

tsunami. Submarine slope failures are documented and cracks along the outer shelf detected in

bathymetric surveys hint of future large-scale failures.

Volcanic eruptions can also cause tsunami even though they are infrequent. Violent eruptions inducefailure along the flanks of a volcano or collapse of the magma chamber. These displace a great

volume of water and generate extremely destructive tsunami in source area.

A tsunami-producing meteorite impact has never been recorded, but there is still a chance, though

very unlikely. Most meteorites burn as enter Earths atmosphere.

I.3 EARTHQUAKE SEISMOLOGYWhen a major earthquake occurs, the resultant seismic energy released into the earth will propagate

with a wide range of frequencies and velocities. Although earth movements discernible to a person

may be confined to a region near the earthquake epicenter, the various seismic waves propagating

throughout the earth create small, but measurable, ground motions which can be detected by a

seismometer. Such signals can be recorded in digital form for analysis on a computer.

For tsunami warning purposes, probably the most important earthquake signal is the P-wave. It is a

compressional or pressure wave that travels through the earths interior at a velocity that varies from

approximately 8.0 km/second near the crust-mantle boundary to about 13.5 km/second at the mantle-

core boundary. It is the first seismic phase to be recorded at each seismic station and it provides the

earliest indication that a distant earthquake has occurred. P-wave travel times in the earth as a

function of distance from and depth of the earthquake hypocenter are known. Thus, the location and

depth of the earthquake can be determined by finding the hypocenter that best fits the pattern of P-

wave arrival times from many stations. The earthquake moment magnitude, Mw, can also be quickly

estimated from the long-period component of the P-waves recorded by broad-band seismometers.This type of measurement of Mw is called Mwp.

Another kind of seismic energy is trapped within the upper layers of the earth primarily the mantle.

These surface waves are the basis for measuring an earthquake's mantle magnitude, Mm, using

vibrations with periods (the time of one wave cycle) between 50 and 400 seconds. There is a simple

direct relation between the mantle magnitude and the moment magnitude. For earthquakes with

magnitudes greater than 8.0 as well as for slow-rupturing earthquakes, the moment magnitude

computed using the mantle magnitude is more accurate than Mwp. However, because the surface

waves travel more slowly than the P-waves, Mw based on Mm is typically not available for tens of

minutes after the initial earthquake evaluation based on Mwp.

I.4 TSUNAMI PROPAGATIONTsunami waves travel outward in all directions from the generating area, with the direction of the

main energy propagation generally being 90 to the line of the earthquake rupture. A key

characteristic that makes tsunami waves differ from other ocean waves such as wind waves or tides is

their period -- the time of one wave cycle. Tsunami wave periods range from 5 minutes to as much as

60 minutes. Wind waves have periods of just a few seconds for and tides have periods of many hours.

In the deep ocean tsunamis travel more than 1000 km/h and slow to 30-50 km/h near shore.

The speed of propagation of tsunami waves and their height depends on the depth of water.

Consequently, the speed and direction of the tsunami waves change as they pass through the oceanbecause of its varying depth. In the deep ocean, waves travel at a velocity controlled by the water

depth (velocity = square-root of the multiplication of water depth multiplied and acceleration due to

gravity). Here, tsunamis typically travel at speeds of 500 to 1,000 kilometers per hour (300 to 600

miles per hour), and the distance between successive wave crests can be as much as 500 to 650


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kilometers (300 to 400 miles). However, in the deep ocean, the height of potentially destructive

tsunami waves may be no more than a few centimeters (1 to 3 inches), and is usually no more than a

meter. Variations in the strength of propagating tsunami waves are due to the shape and size of the

source region, absorptions and reflections at coasts, and to focusing or defocusing by the bathymetric

features of the seafloor. The tsunami wave motions extend through the entire water column from sea

surface to the ocean bottom, even in mid ocean. It is this characteristic that accounts for the great

amount of energy transmitted by a tsunami.

Waves of a tsunami in the deep sea have such great length and so little height they are not visually

recognizable from a surface vessel or from an airplane. The passing of each wave produces only a

gentle rise and fall of the sea surface over a long time usually tens of minutes. During the April

1946 tsunami in Hawaii, ships standing off the coast observed tremendous waves striking the shore

but did not undergo any perceptible change in sea level at their offshore locations.

I.5 TSUNAMI IMPACTUpon reaching shallow water, the speed of an advancing tsunami wave diminishes to the speed of

more ordinary wind-driven swell, its wave length decreases, and its height may increase greatly,

owing to a compression of its energy and a piling up of the water. The height of a tsunami wave in the

deep ocean is a few cm to 1 m while near the shore it can stand more than 30 m. People cannot out-

dive or out-run these waves. Tsunamis reach to the seafloor and steepen in shallow water. Generally

they are not steep enough to break, so they flow over land like a wall of water. Sometimes the first

wave in a tsunami series may be a receding wave and foreshadows the incoming of the destructive

wave.

The configuration of the coastline, shape of the ocean floor, and character of the advancing waves

play an important role in the destruction wrought by tsunamis along any coast, whether near the

generating area or thousands of kilometers away. Consequently, there can be a great variation in the

level of destruction along a single coast, with one area being hard-hit while an adjacent area is not

affected.

Detection of tsunamis is usually made by sea level stations at the shore where the shoaling effect can

be observed. The first visible indication of an approaching tsunami can be a recession of water caused

by the trough preceding an advancing wave. Any withdrawal of the sea, therefore, should be

considered a natural warning of an approaching tsunami wave. However, a rise in water level also

may be the first event.

A network of sea bottom pressure sensors has been deployed to detect tsunamis in the deep ocean.

This is essential since a vast amount of the Pacific does not have islands or other land masses where

coastal sea level gauges can be deployed, and importantly, these data provide a reading of the tsunami

that has not been affected by near-shore bathymetry and morphology. Furthermore, these data are

showing great potential for providing good wave forecasts that the PTWC, WC/ATWC and other

warning centres can use to give threat evaluations before hit vulnerable coasts.

The force and destructive effects of tsunamis should not be underestimated. At some places, an

advancing turbulent front is the most destructive part of the wave. Where the sea level rise is slow and

relatively benign, the outflow of water to the sea between crests may be rapid and destructive,

sweeping all before it and undermining roads, buildings, and other works of man with its swift

currents. Debris picked up and carried by the strong and persistent currents can cause great damage.

Most people killed by tsunamis are crushed, not drowned. Ships, unless moved away from the shore

to deep water, can be thrown against breakwaters, wharves, and other craft, or washed ashore and left

grounded during withdrawals of the sea.

In the shallow water of bays and harbors, a tsunami frequently will initiate seiching an almost

frictionless slow oscillation of the body of water back and forth. If the tsunami period is related

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waves. Under these circumstances, maximum wave activity can be observed much later than the

arrival of the first wave.

A tsunami is not one wave, but a series of waves. The time that elapses between passage of successive

wave crests at a given point can range from 5 to 60 minutes. Oscillations of destructive proportions

may continue for several hours, and even several days may pass before the sea returns to its normal

state.

During the 101-year period from 1900 to 2001, 796 tsunamis were observed or recorded in the Pacific

Ocean according to the Tsunami Laboratory in Novosibirsk. 117 caused casualties and damage near

the source only while at least nine caused widespread destruction in the Pacific. The greatest number

of tsunamis during any one year was 19 in 1938, but all were minor and caused no damage. There was

no single year of the period that was free of tsunamis.

Seventeen percent of the tsunamis in that period were generated in or near Japan. The distribution of

tsunami generation in other areas is as follows: South America, 15 percent: New Guinea and the

Solomon Islands, 13 percent; Indonesia, 11 percent: the Kuril Islands and Kamchatka, 10 percent;

Mexico and Central America, 10 percent; the Philippines, 9 percent; New Zealand and Tonga, 7

percent; Alaska and the West Coast of Canada and the United States, 7 percent; and Hawaii, 3

percent.

I.6 REFERENCESBolt, B. A.; Horn, W. L.; Macdonald, G. A.; and Scott, R., Geological Hazards, Springer-Verlag,

1975.

Murty, T.S., Seismic Sea Waves, Tsunamis, Department of Fisheries and the Environment, Ottawa,

Canada, Bulletin 198, 1977.

Neumann, F., Principles Underlying the Interpretation of Seismograms, Department of CommerceSpecial Publication No. 254, U. S. Government printing Office, 1966.

UNESCO-IOC International Tsunami Information Centre. Tsunami: The Great Waves. IOC Brochure

2006-2. Paris, UNESCO, 2005. Earlier versions in Spanish and French; 2005 version being

translated into Spanish, French. 2005 version available in Chinese.

UNESCO-IOC International Tsunami Information Centre. Tsunami Glossary. IOC Information

document No. 1221. Paris, UNESCO, 2006. Earlier versions in Spanish and French; 2006 version

currently in translation.


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TSUNAMI NUMERICAL MODELLING

Numerical models use mathematical equations to describe physical processes. For the purposes of

tsunami warnings, numerical models estimate the expected tsunami wave height, run-up, and

inundation based on the description of the tsunami source and modeling technique. To get the best

results, the model needs to have specific descriptions of the initial source location and the actual

physical situation. Also, all models need to be validated against observed or historical data to ensurethat the model will calculate reasonable values for future events.

A tsunami can be broken into 3 components, the source that generated the tsunami, the process in

which the waves propagate across the ocean, and the process of inundation as the wave impact coasts

and floods inland (run-up) or retreats seaward (recession).

In order to mathematically describe the earthquake tsunami source, seismologists specify the

mechanical, geometrical, and dynamic characteristics of the fault movement. Tsunamis can also be

caused by volcanic eruptions or subaerial or submarine landslides that cause a sudden displacement of

water.

Tsunami characteristics change as they propagate from their source. For tsunamis propagating in thedeep ocean over long distances, numerical modeling can utilize linear equations for long-wavelength

waves to enable simpler and faster computations. In areas of bathymetric change refraction and

shoaling (shortening of the wavelength and increasing of amplitude) can occur.

Inundation modeling requires high-resolution bathymetry and near-shore topography in order to

mimic variations in coastal and shallow seafloor morphology that drastically affect a tsunami waves

height and energy.

Techniques for modeling tsunamis include Finite Difference and Finite Element Methods. Finite

Difference Methods use nested regular grids to calculate wave effects when tsunami waves approach

and hit the shore. Finite Element Methods apply triangular grids to model the wave propagation;

however, as the wave enters shallow water, computation time increases significantly to the point

where it becomes inefficient. Today, scientists mainly use Finite Difference Methods.

Numerical modeling is an important contributor to mitigating the impact of tsunamis. Government

agencies need to assess the tsunami risks of their coastlines by considering tsunami scenarios and

conducting numerical simulation studies that calculate tsunami heights, velocities, wave forces, and

inundation areas. These results can be used to estimate potential damage. Geographical information

systems (GIS) are useful tools that allow a visual understanding of the affected area.


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November 2007, Page 1 of 8

Proceedings, 4th

International Workshop on Coastal Disaster Prevention,

Future Disaster Management of Tsunami and Storm Surge in Asia, 1-2 December 2007, Yokohama, Japan

A GLOBAL TSUNAMI REDUCTION STRATEGY: BUILDING

EFFECTIVE TSUNAMI WARNING AND MITIGATION SYSTEMS

Laura S. L. KONG

International Tsunami Information Centre, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, UnitedNations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 737 Bishop St., Ste. 2200, Honolulu,

Hawaii 96813 USA, [email protected]

Abstract

Early Warning Systems will save lives. An effective tsunami early warning system is achieved

when all persons in vulnerable coastal communities are prepared and respond in a timely

manner upon recognition that a potential destructive tsunami may be approaching. For this,

tsunami hazards and risks must be known, and preparedness activities must be carried out

beforehand so that when a warning is issued, it will motivate ordinary citizens to quickly move

out of harms way before the tsunami attacks. While implementation of the Indian Oceantsunami warning and mitigation system is being pursued with highest urgency, the tsunami

hazard exists in all oceans where tsunamis can attack in minutes as local tsunamis or take up to

24 hours to traverse an ocean basin as a distant tsunami. Because of this, international

cooperation and data sharing are essential. Early detection by monitoring network will trigger

early warnings that must immediately trigger appropriate emergency responses. At the same

time, awareness and preparedness activities that educate and inform citizens about tsunamis and

what to do when warnings are issued have to take place. Planning activities creating evacuation

maps, drills and exercises, and hard and soft countermeasures are pre-disaster mitigations to

reduce tsunami impact. Indigenous knowledge, gender, and social science perspectives on

warning response have to be factored in. Teaching natural hazards and disaster preparedness

subjects in schools will carry awareness to the next generations. Stakeholder coordination, with

clear designation of the responsible authorities to minimize confusion during emergencies, isessential for carrying out rapid and effective warning and response. For this, disaster

management organizations can play a key leadership role in natural hazard disaster risk

reduction. Finally, high-level advocacy is critical to ensure a sustained commitment to prepare

for infrequent, high-fatality natural disasters such as tsunami.

Keywords: tsunami; early warning; disaster risk reduction, mitigation

1. IntroductionTsunami early warning systems must provide timely, understandable warnings within minutes that

will then motivate ordinary citizens to quickly move out of harms way. While implementation of the

Indian Ocean tsunami warning and mitigation system is being pursued with highest urgency, we must

acknowledge that the tsunami hazard exists in all oceans (Figure 1).Every ocean basin and sea can be

impacted by tsunamis, which can occur at any time without a precursor signal. In fact, some

countries may be impacted by tsunamis from two or more basins.

Until 2005, no tsunami early warning systems existed outside the Pacific. The Intergovernmental

Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

(IOC of UNESCO) is currently leading the coordinating efforts to establish comprehensive tsunami

warning and mitigation programmes globally. Altogether, four Intergovernmental Coordination

Groups (ICG) have been established under the governance system of the IOC of UNESCO to oversee

the implementations of internationally-coordinated tsunami warning and mitigation systems globally.In addition to the 40-year old Pacific Ocean system, new systems are being built in the Indian Ocean,


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Proceedings, 4th



Caribbean, and the North Atlantic and Mediterranean. In the Pacific, sub-regional systems that can

respond faster and specifically address sub-regional needs exist for the Northwest Pacific and are

being planned for the Southwest and Southeast Pacific, Southeast Asia and Central America Pacific

Coast. The ICGs meet regularly to discuss the tsunami technical monitoring and warning

disseminations requirements and improvements, coordinate tsunami risk assessment and preparedness

activities, and to share national experiences in building tsunami awareness through education and

outreach in their countries

Figure 1. Global tsunami source zones. Courtesy LDG-France

2. Building a global system to guard against tsunamisThe United Nations has been engaged for more than 15 years in a process of creating awareness and

promoting the development of policies to diminish the loss of life and property from natural and man-

made disasters. The World Conference on Disaster Reduction held in Kobe, Japan, in 2005 adoptedthe Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015, a document that commits governments and the

international community to achieving a set of concrete goals, among them the commitment to halve

the loss of life caused by disasters, to make all schools and hospitals disaster-proof, and to establish

national natural disaster platforms in each country.

The Hyogo Declaration states that [W]e are far from powerless to prepare for and mitigate the

impact of disasters. We can and must alleviate the suffering from hazards by reducing the

vulnerability of societies. We can and must further build the resilience of nations and communities to

disasters through people-centered early warning systems, risks assessments, education and other

proactive, integrated, multi-hazard, and multi-sectoral approaches and activities in the context of the

disaster reduction cycle, which consists of prevention, preparedness, and emergency response, as well

as recovery and rehabilitation.


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The risk of tsunamis exists, to different degrees, in all oceans and coastal seas, and as such, a global

coordinated system is desirable. We have learned, however, that early warning and mitigation

systems can only be built with strong and sustained commitment by the national governments and that

these systems can only operate if countries agree to collaborate in a regional framework by sharing

data and by jointly bearing the cost for the regional elements of the network. In addition, some

nations are threatened by tsunamis generated in more than one ocean basin, increasing the importance

for regional and international coordination.

In general, we must be able to respond to both local tsunamis, (i.e. those generated by a small

earthquake or an underwater landslide that only affect areas less than 200 km away) and to a huge

earthquake, like the one in Sumatra on 26 December 2004, which generates a destructive ocean-wide

tsunami that travels thousands of kilometers across the ocean before hitting the coastline. In 1960, the

Pacific experienced a tsunami generated by a magnitude 9.5 earthquake in Chile. The tsunami caused

deaths in Hawaii and in Japan, 14 hours and 22 hours, respectively, after the earthquake. Because of

the existence of tsunamis from far distant sources, a single country cannot adequately protect itself

from tsunami risks without a regional network of observation stations.

3. Tsunami early warning and mitigation systems (TEWS)To issue a warning without having prepared and exercised how the population should respond to the

warning is useless. The IOCs approach requires progress in three mutually dependent components

that are active at the international or regional, national, and local levels:

o First, assessing the tsunami hazard and risk especially at the local level to identify vulnerablecommunities;

o Second, preparing the population so they know what action to take in case of a tsunamiwarning; and

o Third, building an international, national, and local technological framework that warns us ofan advancing tsunami wave.

A tsunami warning system triggered by the continuous monitoring of large earthquakes and

confirmation of tsunami waves can exist only through international cooperation under the principle of

open, free, and unrestricted exchange of observational data, and the availability of an effective

National Tsunami Response Plan that is immediately activated when warnings are issued in order to

save lives and property (Figure 2). For responding quickly and efficiency, well-known and clear

standard operating procedures for both warning centres and emergency operations centres should be

in place and practiced so that stakeholders are familiar with and understand their roles and

responsibilities, and the timely actions that are must take place. These are important lessons learned

from past experience. Important as they are for triggering the early alert, the instrumental networks

required for early warning are just one element in the chain to mitigate the hazards from tsunamis.

Pre-disaster mitigation and tsunami preparedness programmes educate not only the general public,

including transient or special needs populations such as tourists staying at beachfront hotels, women,

children, and the elderly, but also government officials and other local community leaders so that

good government emergency action decisions will be made without delay. The programmes should

build capacity and awareness at the local community level by identifying the vulnerable communities

through risk assessments, placing the tsunami hazard and response in the local context and

empowering communities to collectively engage, plan, and implement an appropriate tsunami

response such as an evacuation to tsunami-safe zones.


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Figure 2. Components of a successful early warning system. For the case of tsunamis, rapid

tsunamigenic potential evaluations of earthquakes are essential to be able to provide the fastest early

warning to emergency officials, who must then issue understandable messages that result in

immediate public response before the first destructive wave hits.

Equally important pre-disaster activities include structural countermeasures, such as sea walls, water

gates and vegetative barriers, and the design and construction of seismic- and tsunami-resistant

buildings and shelters, and critical lifeline infrastructure, to reduce the impact of tsunamis on life and

property. These measures are just part of government disaster risk management, which should

evaluate risk, and adopt coastal zone management and land use (or non-use) policies that provide

reasonable public safety from all natural hazards. Social science plays a crucial role in understanding

how humans perceive and respond to natural disasters and disaster warnings. These perceptions and

subsequent actions must be taken into account to ensure that the tsunami risk is communicated in an

understandable and practicable manner to the public. Finally, the fact that the some populations

survived the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, while many others did not, highlights the importance of

incorporating traditional, indigenous knowledge as part of preparedness.

4. Key elements of the end-to-end TEWSEarly Warning Systems can save lives. In particular, a number of elements are critical for an effective

system to operate. These can be summarized as follows:

1. Proper instruments that enable the early detectionof potentially harmful earthquakes

and tsunamis. The data obtained by these instruments must be readily available to all nations

continuously and in real-time to be effective.

2. Warning systems that reliably inform the vulnerable populations immediately and in

an understandable and culturally appropriate way. The Warning Centre must be able to


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analyze and forecast the impact of tsunamis on coasts in advance of the waves arrival, and

the local, regional, and/or national Disaster Management Organizations (DMOs) must be able

to immediately disseminate information on the threat and to enable evacuation of all

vulnerable communities. The communications methods must be reliable, robust, and

redundant, and work closely with the mass media and telecommunications providers to

accomplish this broadcast.

3. Awareness activities that enable ordinary citizens to recognizea tsunami so that they

know what to do. Citizens should recognize a tsunamis natural warning signs and respond

immediately. This is especially true for the case of a local tsunami, which may hit within

minutes and before an official tsunami warning can reach their communities. Recognition and

use of indigenous knowledge is important.

4. Preparedness activities which educate and informa wide populace, including

government responders and those providing lifeline and critical infrastructure services, on the

procedures and activities that must be taken to ensure public safety. Drills and exercises

before an actual event, and proactive outreach and awareness activities are essential for

reducing tsunami impact. Natural hazards science and disaster preparedness subjects that arepart of the required curriculum taught to school children will prepare and carry awareness to

the next generations. Gender-related issues in preparedness and family responses in

emergencies need to be factored in.

5. Planning activities that identify and createthe public safety procedures and products

and build capacity for organizations to respond faster. It is necessary to create and widely

disseminate tsunami evacuation or flooding maps, and instructions on when to go, where to

go, and how to go. Evacuation shelters and evacuation routes need to be clearly identified,

and widely known by all segments of the coastal population.

6. Strong buildings, safe structures, and prudent land-use policies to save lives and

reduce property damagethat are implemented as pre-disaster mitigations. Tall, reinforceconcrete buildings may be adequate places to which people can vertically evacuate if there is

no time to reach higher ground inland. Long-term planning to avoid placing critical

infrastructure and lifeline support facilities in inundation zones will reduce the time needed

for services to be restored.

7. Stakeholder coordination as the essential mechanismthat facilitates effective actions in

warning and emergency response (Figure 3). Clear designation of the national or local

authority from which the public will receive emergency information is critical to avoid public

confusion, which would compromise public safety.

8. High-level advocacy that ensures a sustained commitment to prepare for infrequent,

high-fatality natural disasters such as tsunami.


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Figure 3. A Tsunami Coordinating Committee engages all stakeholders to develop and participate in

comprehensively reducing the risk from tsunamis. Key contributors are the scientists and engineers

who assess and evaluate the risk, the tsunami warning centre which is responsible for rapid alerts,

and government emergency services which must move every person out of harms way before the

tsunami arrives.

5. What does it mean to be effective? Stakeholders need to work together.An effective tsunami early warning system is achieved when all persons in vulnerable coastal

communities are prepared and respond in a timely manner upon recognition that a potential

destructive tsunami may be approaching. While timely tsunami warnings issued by an officially-

recognized regional tsunami warning centre using real-time seismic, sea level, and other geophysical

data streams from throughout the monitoring region are an essential component of the system, it is

absolutely critical that these scientifically-based warning messages are communicated to the public in

an understandable manner that clearly and simply instructs ordinary citizens on the actions they

should take to ensure their safety.

National and Local Tsunami Coordination Committees (TCCs) are valuable mechanisms to build

effective tsunami responses that will minimize loss of life and damage from this quick-impacting

natural hazard. A TCC should be comprised of all stakeholders involved in the identification of the

risk, the warning guidance, and the pre- and post-disaster mitigation activities, and should meetregularly to collectively inform, decide, and share information.

Coordinated actions include the evacuation of people situated in areas of potential flooding to safe

zones or shelters, along with instructions on who should evacuate, where and how they should go,

when to go, what to bring, and how they will know when it is safe to return. Consideration and

planning should also to be given to special needs populations, such as the elderly, physically-

handicapped, and groups of people who cannot read, hear, or understand conventional warning

methods. In this regard, pre-disaster tsunami awareness and preparedness activities are essential for

educating and familiarizing the public in advance of the actual emergency.

The success of any warning system lies in its ability to reach people, e.g., that the people with

important specialized knowledge of the impending hazard are able to quickly and efficiently pass onusable information to all the people who are at risk. Although technology is essential for information


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analysis and delivery, successful early warning ultimately relies on the abilities of people to reach

people if we able to communicate the situation clearly, a prepared population will be able to act

responsibly.

6. The Last Mile. The Roles of Disaster Management and Civil-Military Organizations incoordination, tsunami preparedness and emergency response

Coordination is essential, and in many countries, as part of the civil defence organizations of

governments, the Disaster Management Organization (DMO) should play an essential role in the

efficient and immediate actions to ensure public safety prior, during, and the after the event, and,

additionally, in leading efforts to increase government and community preparedness. The DMO

should work in especially close collaboration with the Warning Centre so as to achieve a seamless

end-to-end delivery of a tsunami warning during an actual emergency. To build stakeholder

commitment for efficient response, each national DMO should consider sponsoring a Tsunami

Coordination Committee to serve as the coordinating and implementing body for building a

comprehensive and sustainable tsunami mitigation programme.

Specifically, the DMO can play a very important leadership role in:

o Preparing the publicfor all hazards, including tsunamis, through education and awareness,communication of risk to communities and involvement of communities in hazard mitigation

activities through pre-disaster mitigation projects. It should act as the translator of science

and technology to ordinary citizen-understandable concepts/language;

o Identifying the hazardsand vulnerable communities (i.e. conducting risk evaluation),through cooperation with technical and science institutions locally and internationally, and

then making the information known to the public in an understandable manner;

o Ensuring information flowfrom warning centres to the public for safety throughcoordination and timely dissemination of understandable and practicable information before

and during the disaster, and afterward, informing the public when it is safe to return and

commencing immediately search-and-rescue efforts and disaster recovery processes;

o Building:o All-stakeholder coordination(local and national) for effective emergency response;o Community-level linkagesto implement people-centred early warning and

mitigation; and

o High-level advocacyto sustain tsunami preparedness for future generations.

7. ConclusionsEnsuring that an effective national tsunami warning and mitigation system is implemented in every

nation with a tsunami threat is a considerable task. This is especially true for Small Island

Developing States where populations may be scattered over a vast regions and islands, and where

establishing reliable communications will be the critical need for early receiving and transmitting

early warnings.

To be effective, every nation and island will have to know when a tsunami is approaching and be

prepared to respond. In fact, there is heavy responsibility on national technical agencies and national

and local disaster management organizations to provide leadership in alerting its populations and

preparing them beforehand. Tsunami Warning Centre and Emergency Operations Centre need to be

ready 24-hours-a-day every day of the year. Additionally, the DMO must also provide the leadershipin responding after the event to commence search and rescue, and disaster recovery for their people.


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Meeting this challenge will require a strong disaster risk reduction platform, a well-designed and

sustainable strategy, and close and effective cooperation and coordination between all stakeholders,

both government agencies and non-government organizations. Relevant legal and administrative

arrangements are required and the necessary human resources need to be put in place, in addition to

technical and scientific infrastructures. This is the implementation challenge we must succeed at in

order to say that we have an early warning system that will save lives.

References

International Coordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific (ICG/ITSU), ITSU

Master Plan (2nd ed.), IOC/INF No. 1124, UNESCO / IOC, Paris, 1999.

Kong, L., Guarding against tsunamis: The challenge of building preparedness at the national and

local levels, The Liaison, 55-63, 2006

Kong, L., Guarding against tsunamis: What does it mean to be ready? Geotimes, 7, 2006.

UNESCO-IOC, Tsunami: The Great Waves, IOC Brochure 2006-2, UNESCO-IOC, Paris, 2006.

UNESCO-IOC, Tsunami Glossary (3rd ed.), IOC Information Document No. 1221, UNESCO-IOC,

Paris, 2006.

UNESCO-IOC, TsunamiTeacher, IOC Manuals and Guides 47, UNESCO-IOC, Paris, 2006.

UN/ISDR, United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction. Hyogo Framework for Action

2005-2015. Retrieved from http://www.unisdr.org/wcdr/, 2005.

UN/ISDR, Third International Conference on Early Warning, Developing Early Warning Systems: A

Checklist, 27-29 March 2006.


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www.geotimes.org November 2006 Geotimes 7

Laura S. L. Kong

Tsunamis are among the worlds

most destructive and fatal

coastal hazards. Triggered by

the Dec. 26, 2004, undersea

earthquake off Sumatra, the greatest tsuna-

mi in memory caused the tragic death of an

estimated 230,000 people in the Indian

Ocean region. The tragedy demonstrated

the urgent need for early warning systems

not only for regions near the Indian Ocean,

but also globally as the tsunami hazard

exists in all oceans and seas.

Following the 2004 tsunami, the U.N.

Educational, Scientific, and Cultural

Organizations Intergovernmental Ocean-

ographic Commission (UNESCO IOC) led

immediate efforts to establish an IndianOcean warning system, and an interim sys-

tem has been in place in the region since

April 2005, as well as in the South China

Sea and the Caribbean since this year.

Permanent coverage for the Gulf Coast of

Mexico and East Coast of North America

began at the end of last year. These systems

extend the alert system beyond the Pacific,

where an international tsunami warning

system has been operating since 1965.

Despite this progress, however, much work

is ahead before the coastal communities of

the world can be truly prepared.

Tsunamis are low frequency, highimpact natural disasters that are also

unpredictable: We may not see another

destructive tsunami in 100 years or we may

see another one tomorrow. These charac-

teristics pose a unique set of challenges for

hazards mitigation, including, first and

foremost, preparation.

An effective tsunami early warning sys-

tem is achieved when all people in vulner-

able coastal communities are prepared to

respond appropriately and in a timely

manner upon recognizing that a potential

destructive tsunami may be approaching.

Facing this challenge will require round-the-clock monitoring with real-time data

streams and rapid alert dissemination, as

well as prepared communities, a strong

national disaster management system, and

close and effective cooperation and coordi-

nation between all stakeholders.

At the core of the early warning system is

the National Tsunami Warning Center

(NTWC), which is the 24/7 focal point for

receiving timely reports from international

centers worldwide. Additionally, for coun-

tries with a local tsunami threat, such as

Japan, Indonesia, Chile and parts of the

eastern Mediterranean, the NTWC must

have a local warning system with denser

instrument networks so that they can eval-

uate and provide a warning within minutes

of an earthquake. These centers must be

fully interlinked with the national disaster

management organization, which will

receive the NTWC warnings and then take

immediate action to warn communities of

imminent danger.

To warn without preparing, and further,

to warn without providing a public safety

message that is understandable to every

person about what to do and where to go,is clearly useless. While alerts are the tech-

nical trigger for early warning, any system

will ultimately be judged by its ability to

save lives, and by whether people move out

of harms way before a big tsunami hits.

That lesson hit home on July 17, when a

local tsunami struck Indonesia 21 minutes

after an earthquake, resulting in more than

400 deaths on the island of Java. Although the

Indonesia earthquake monitoring center had

information indicating a potential tsunami

threat, the mechanisms for alerting coastal

authorities along with enacting the com-

munitys plans and procedures for tsunamiemergency response and evacuation were

not in place. Thus, we learned again that for

local tsunamis where a wave can strike in min-

utes, technical warning systems are not

enough, and that public education and aware-

ness at the community level are most urgent

and essential.

In the aftermath of the July tsunami,

much has happened. Indonesias tsunami

alert communications systems have been

enabled through the police and media, and

many districts and provinces are develop-

ing emergency plans and conducting

tsunami drills to prepare themselves for thenext local tsunami.

To date, 26 of the 29 countries around the

Indian Ocean have designated official

receiving points for advisory alerts. Upon

receiving the alerts, each country is then

responsible for evaluating the regional threat

and providing the relevant public safety

advice to their people and any vulnerable

coastlines. As we know, a tsunamis impact

upon a particular coastline is dependent on

local seafloor conditions and the character of

the coastline, and therefore is best evaluated

and acted upon by national and local

authorities.

Between April 2005 and August 2006,

these alerts have been issued 13 times, on

average between 16 and 21 minutes after

the earthquakes, using regional real-time

seismic data primarily from the Global

Seismic Network, which is managed by the

Incorporated Research Institution for

Seismology and the U.S. Geological

Survey. For the earliest of tsunami warn-

ings, we rely on the monitoring of earth-

quakes because more than 70 percent of

tsunamis are caused directly by tectonic

earthquakes, and another 20 percent bylandslides or volcano processes for which

seismic monitoring can provide early

detection. This, together with the known

fact that seismic waves travel more than 40

times faster than tsunami waves, allows

warning and emergency operations centers

to issue alerts and evacuations before a

tsunami wave arrives.

Over the past year, IOC has led an effort,

supported by contributions from a number

of sources, to upgrade sea-level monitoring

stations of the Global Sea Level Observing

System to transmit more frequently, to pro-

vide faster confirmation on whether atsunami has been generated. By this month,

25 sea-level stations will report every 15

minutes by satellite, whereas in 2004, 11

were reporting only hourly, and none trans-

mitted to the tsunami warning centers.

The next step is for countries to work

together to focus on national and local

tsunami emergency response and prepara-

tions, so that every citizen, whether young

or old, knows what a tsunami is, how to

recognize one and what to do to save their

lives. It is not an easy effort, and it will take

time, but each small step forward will

hopefully build the preparedness for ourfuture generations.

Kong is director of the International Tsunami

Information Centre, Intergovernmental Oceano-

graphic Commission based in Honolulu, Hawaii,

which is part of the U.N. Educational, Scientific

and Cultural Organization. E-mail: l.kong@

unesco.org.

Guarding Against Tsunamis: What Does It Mean To Be Ready?

COMMENT

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End-to-end Tsunami Warning: Stakeholders, Roles and Responsibilities, Standard

Operating Procedures, and their Linkage

May 2008

David Coetzee, New Zealand Civil Defense and Emergency Management

Laura Kong and Brian Yanagi, International Tsunami Information Centre

End-to-End Tsunami Warning involves a number of stakeholders who must be able to work in

coordination and with good understanding of each others roles, responsibilities, authorities, and

action during a tsunami event. Planning and preparedness, and practicing in advance of the real

event, helps to familiarize agencies and their staff with the steps and decision-making that need to

be carried out without hesitation in a real emergency.

For End-to-End Tsunami Warning, the Stakeholdersinvolved are:

- Regional Tsunami Warning Centres (RTWC)

- National Tsunami Warning Centres (NTWC)

- Disaster Management Offices (DMO)/Local Authorities

- Emergency Services

- Media

- Public

Successful (timely and effective) Tsunami Warnings require End-to-End SOPs.

The Tsunami Warning SOPs need to be coherent and work seamlessly from stakeholder to

stakeholder


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STAKEHOLDERS: The following are characteristics of the Stakeholders:

Regional Tsunami Warning Centres (RTWC)

Regional Monitoring & Detection (24/7) International collation/sharing of data Issue Regional Alerts to National Warning Centres Cancel Regional Alerts

National Tsunami Warning Centres (NTWC)

Local (Country specific) Monitoring & Detection (24/7) Receive RTWC Alerts Assessment of information-determine local threat Issue National Warnings to DMOs, media & agencies Cancel National Warnings Research & Public Education

Disaster Management Offices (DMO)/Local Authorities Receive National Warnings from NTWC Activate local public alert systems as appropriate Decide & Manage Evacuations Communicate All Clear (safe for public to return to coastline) Signage Public Education

Emergency Services (Education of these responders is critical)

Support DMO/Local Authorities with Public alerting Evacuation Law & Order Response after tsunami has struck

Media (Radio and Television)

Convey Official Warnings (National & Local) But also:

Convey Unofficial Warnings Therefore:

Can cause or counter public responsePublic

End receiver of warnings Convey Official and Unofficial Warnings Therefore must understand:

Official Warnings (how will they be warned) Natural Warnings (what to look out for) Evacuation zones, routes & Safe zones How to respond where evacuation zones are not defined


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WARNINGS: There are three types of Warning: Official, Natural, and Informal.

Official Warningsare :

Disseminated by Regional Tsunami Warning Centres to National Tsunami Warning Centres (NTWC) Disseminated by NTWCs to:

Media Local Authorities Govt Agencies

Disseminated by Disaster Management Offices (DMO) to: Local media Local Communities/Public

Natural Warningsare Natural Occurrences felt/observed/hear by public:

Strong earthquake shaking Unusual sea behaviour

Sudden recession Sudden rise

Noise/roar

Natural Warnings are especially critical when Official Warnings have not been issued.

This may occur when:

local source tsunami where an Official Warning cannot be issued quickly enough an Official Warning did or could not reach, such as in isolated areasInformal Warnings(or Unofficial Warnings) are :

Media Coverage Following a warning/bulletin issued by a RTWC or other country Following public reports

People Friends & family passing the information on Friends & family perceiving a threat

Informal Warnings may or may not be correct

Tsunami Resilienceis built upon preparedness in tsunami knowledge, planning, warning, and

awareness.


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Tsunami Warning Centres An Overview

Laura Kong (ITIC), Charles McCreery (PTWC), Masahiro Yamamoto (IOC)

April 2008, September 2010

When a major undersea earthquake occurs near the coast and at a shallow depth, there is a

possibility that a destructive tsunami can be generated that will impact near-by coasts withinminutes and that can also traverse across entire ocean basins to wreak havoc 1000s of

kilometers away and up to 24 hours later. To alert far-away coasts, internationally-coordinated

tsunami early warning systems have been established to provide alerts to countries on regional-

to-distant tsunamis. For local tsunamis, pre-event education is absolutely critical; citizens must

recognize the tsunami natural warning signs and be prepared to immediately self-evacuate sincenational tsunami warning centers and emergency agencies may not be able to provide timely

warnings to all.

The mission of a Tsunami Warning Centre (TWC) is to provide early tsunami warnings on

potentially destructive tsunamis. It provides this information to emergency officials, and as

appropriate, directly to the public. In order to carry out its mission, the TWC uses local andglobal seismographic networks transmitting seismograms in real-time to continuously monitor

seismicity in order to locate and size potentially tsunamigenic earthquakes. Earthquakes are the

primary generators of tsunamis. Alternatively, the national TWC can receive international

tsunami advisories issued by the international tsunami warning centres (such as the PTWC,WC/ATWC, and JMA), and upon receiving, evaluate the threat to their country and further

disseminate the relevant information to emergency authorities. TWC also use sea levelnetworks reporting data in real and near real-time to verify the generation and evaluate the

severity of a tsunami. TWC then disseminate tsunami advisory and warning messages to

designated national or local authorities for their subsequent action. TWC must respond fast, be

as accurate as possible, and be reliable in order to be effective.

The requirement for the amount of time it takes a TWC to respond with an alert message

following a potentially tsunamigenic earthquake depends upon how quickly the tsunami would

strike the coast, how long it would take persons at risk to move to a safe location, and what isscientifically and technically reasonable to achieve. These factors may vary between TWCs, the

coasts they are responsible for, and the potential tsunami source zones. Sample response times

that have been achieved by existing TWCs are shown below.

Tsunami TypeTypical

Time to ImpactTWC Response Time

Local 0-1 hr 2-5 minRegional 1-3 hr 5-10 min

Distant >3 hr 10-20 min

TWCs acquire data and disseminate advisory messages through multiple communications paths

and should have redundant and backup methods and services in case of primary service failures.

Routine communications tests are carried out to ensure that telecommunications lines areworking. TWC should provide a Users Guide for customers who will receive, and have to

interpret and take action based on the TWC advisories.

When a large earthquake occurs, Tsunami Warning Centre personnel determine the earthquake's

hypocentre, the initial rupture point of the earthquake, and its magnitude. If the hypocentre isunder or near the ocean and not too deep within the earth, and if the magnitude is sufficiently


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large, then tsunami generation is possible. On the basis of this seismic evidence, the Centreissues a local tsunami warning or advisory to areas located near the epicentre. A regional or

distant tsunami watch or advisory is also issued to areas located further from the epicentre if themagnitude is so large there is the possibility of a long-range destructive tsunami. All remaining

areas may also be notified that an event has occurred. The initial bulletin tells participants that

an earthquake has occurred, where and when it occurred, and that a destructive tsunami ispossible. For a local tsunami warning, the advisory may suggest immediate evacuation inland

and to higher ground, or to clear the beach, since waves are imminent.

Confirmation of a tsunami usually comes from sea level stations located nearest the earthquake.

In the case of local tsunamis, it is best to have a dense network of sea level instruments so thatclose-by stations can confirm a tsunami within minutes of its generation. At the regional or

distant scale, confirmation can rely on a sparser network of gauges and take up to 1 or 2 hours.Fortunately, most large earthquakes with tsunamigenic potential do not generate long-range

destructive tsunamis and the warning or watch will be cancelled. But if a potentially

destructive, long-range tsunami is measured, a regional TWC will issue an ocean-wide tsunami

warning to advise designated national authorities. This message alerts all warning systemparticipants to the approach of potentially destructive tsunami waves and provides estimated

tsunami arrival times for key locations. Because tsunamis move through the water in accordance

with known physical laws, estimated arrival times can be quickly computed. Tsunami wave

forecasts, or estimated wave heights may also be included if there is enough data and the modelresults are judged by TWC staff to be reasonable. Typically, during a tsunami event, bulletins

containing updated information are issued at least hourly, until the tsunami has crossed theentire ocean or additional evidence is received to indicate there is no further tsunami threat.

Tsunami warnings are cancelled when the TWC judges that there are no longer destructive

tsunami waves being generated this does not mean that is it safe for the public to return to the

evacuated coastlines.

Messages are disseminated in accordance with procedures outlined in the Operational Users

Guide for the Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System area of coverage (such as the Caribbean,

Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and North Atlantic, and Pacific). Emergency authorities, such asthe National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), civil defense, or emergency operations

centres, have the responsibility for immediately interpreting the science-based alerts issued by

the TWC (international, regional, national, and/or local), and quickly disseminating safety

information to the public on what to do. They are also responsible for informing the public

when it is safe for them to return to the evacuated coastlines; due to structural damage, debris,

and other life safety concerns, the All-Clear to return may not be issued by the local authority

for hours or even weeks after the event. The NDMO/Civil Defense can also have the ongoingresponsibility for educating the public concerning the dangers of tsunamis and for developing

safety measures to be taken to avoid the loss of life and reduce property damage.

Current operational weaknesses of tsunami warning centres include an inability to detect

landslide and volcanic sources, and an inability to provide early-enough warnings for local

tsunamis except in a few areas. Additionally, to ensure public safety and provide the fastest

early warning, TWC initially issue watches and warnings based only on earthquake information.

Most often these watches and warnings are later cancelled when sea level information confirms

non-destructive waves. This practice (being conservative so as to err on the side of safety) may

reduce the credibility of the TWC for issuing accurate warnings and cause the public to

erroneously presume that all such alerts are false alarms. To mitigate, TWC need to manageexpectations by continually educating the public, media, and decision-makers on tsunamis and

the services that TWC will provide, including TWC limitations.


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GLOBAL TSUNAMI WARNING AND ADVISORY MESSAGE PRODUCTS


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1

10 Steps to Enable a Successful Tsunami Emergency Response

UNESCO/IOC-NOAA ITIC

May 2008

1) Know and understand a country's tsunami risk.2) Develop an "end to end" Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System (TEWS)

implementation strategy. Identify lead agencies at all levels of government.

3) Set up stakeholder (multi-hazard and/or tsunami specific) coordination committees at alllevels of government.

4) Develop multi-hazard disaster response plans including tsunami specific emergencyresponse plans and SOPs at national/provincial/city/local levels. Integrate emergency

policies and mobilize all government agencies, in coordination with NGOs and theprivate sector.

5) Enable a country to receive 24x7 Tsunami Warning Center messages throughinternational/regional and/or national tsunami warning systems developed via the

UNESCO - IOC/ICG coordination process for international alerts.

6) Develop a rapid 24 x 7 communications dissemination infrastructure "down to the lastkilometer." Involve and partner with the mass media for alert dissemination, building

preparedness, and increasing awareness.

7) Emphasize sustainable local community education, preparedness, and mitigationprograms (i.e .tsunami evacuation maps, routes, signage, sirens)

8) Conduct annual tsunami exercises and drills at various levels of government, and inparticular, with coastal schools.

9) Obtain commitment from public authorities to enact multi-hazard and/or tsunamispecific disaster risk reduction policies at all levels of government.

10) Develop emergency management policies and legislation that address multi-hazardsincluding tsunami specific events.


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GLOSSARY - Disaster Management Organisations

Source: UNISDR; italics added by UNDP (S. Jegillos) for elaboration

Capacity (Capability)-A combination of all the resources and knowledge available within a

community, society or organisation that can reduce the level of risk, or the effects of a disaster.

Capacity may include physical, institutional, intellectual, political, social, economic, and

technological means as well as individual or collective attributes such as leadership, co-ordination

and management.

Coping capacity-The level of resources and the manner in which people or organisations use these

resources and abilities to face adverse consequences of a disaster.In general, this involves managing

resources, both in normal times, as well as during adverse conditions. The strengthening of coping

capacities usually builds resilience to withstand the effects of natural and other hazards.

Disaster-A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread

human, material, economic and/or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected

community or society to cope using its own level of resources. Although disasters are generallycategorised as natural or manmade, recent understanding of these events show that most natural

disasters are also caused by human interactions with environment and nature, thus they are not

purely natural. The term natural disasters however are commonly used to refer to events that are

triggered by natural hazards.A disaster is a function of risk process resulting from the combination of

hazards, conditions of vulnerability and insufficient capacity or measures to reduce the potential

negative consequences of risk.

Disaster (risk) reduction-The conceptual framework of elements considered able to minimise or

reduce disaster risks within a community or society, to avoid (prevention) or to limit (mitigation and

preparedness) and to manage (emergency response) and recover from the adverse impacts of natural

and manmade hazards, within the broad context of sustainable development. For simplicity, UNISDR

uses the phrase disaster reduction.

Disaster risk management-The systematic management of administrative decisions, organisation,

operational skills and abilities to implement policies, strategies and coping capacities of the society

and communities to lessen the impacts of natural hazards and related potential environmental hazards.

This comprises all forms of activities, including structural and non-structural measures to avoid

(prevention), to limit (mitigation and preparedness) adverse effects of hazards and/or to manage

(emergency response) and recover from the consequences of the event.

Disaster risk reduction: Actions that reduce the impact of a disaster before its occurrence.

Disaster risk reduction policies: Plans and practices related to reducing the impact of a disaster

before its occurrence.

Early warning-The provision of timely and effective information, through identified formal and

informal institutions and communication network, that allow individuals exposed to a hazard, to take

action to avoid or reduce their risk and prepare for effective response. The objective of people-centred

early warning systems is to empower individuals and communities threatened by hazards with

knowledge to act in sufficient time and in an appropriate manner to reduce the possibility of personal

injury, loss of life and damage to property and the environment. An end to end TEWS is a series of

chronological events related to tsunami risk knowledge, monitoring and warning, communication

dissemination, and response capability to protect lives and property.

Emergency: A situation that is the result of any happening, whether natural or otherwise, which

causes or may cause loss of life or injury or illness or distress or in anyway endangers the safety ofthe public or property.


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Reference: The Guide to the National Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan. New Zealand

Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management. June 2006.

Emergency Management -The organisation and management of resources and responsibilities for

dealing with all aspects of emergencies, particularly preparedness, response and recovery. Emergency

management involves plans, structures and arrangements established to engage the normal

endeavours of government, voluntary, private agencies and local communities in a comprehensive

and co-ordinated way to respond to the whole spectrum of emergency needs. Emergency management

is also known as disaster management.

Emergency Management Policies and Legislation: Laws, plans and practices related to emergency

management.

Emergency Response Plan: Mechanisms and networks are established and maintained to respond

quickly to disasters and address emergency needs at the community level.

Reference: How Resilient is Your Coastal Community? U.S. IOTWS Document No. 27-IOTWS-07CCR. 2007.

End to End Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System (TEWS): The objective of

people-centred early warning systems is to empower individuals and communities threatened by

hazards with knowledge to act in sufficient time and in an appropriate manner to reduce the

possibility of personal injury, loss of life and damage to property and the environment. An end to

end TEWS is a series of chronological events related to tsunami risk knowledge, monitoring and

warning, communication dissemination, and response capability to protect lives and property.

Reference: Developing Early Warning Systems: A Checklist. UN ISDR. March 2006.

Hazard-A potentially damaging physical event, phenomenon and/or human activity, which maycause the loss of life or injury, property damage, social, economic disruption and environmental

degradation.Hazards can include potential conditions that may represent future threats and can have

different origins: natural (geological, hydro-meteorological and biological) and/or induced by human

processes (environmental degradation and technological hazards). Hazards can be single, sequential

or combined in their origin and effects. Each hazard is characterised by its location, intensity,

frequency, probability and its likely effects/impacts.

Mitigation-Structural (physical) and non-structural (non-physical) measures undertaken to protect

and/or strengthen vulnerable elements to minimise the adverse impact of natural hazards,

environmental degradation and technological hazards. Elements of important consideration include

population, livelihood, settlements, and basic social, economic and institutional services at the

primary level and development investments and environment at the secondary level.

Multi-Hazard Disaster Response Plans: Courses of actions undertaken in the event of a natural or

technological hazards.

Policy: A plan or course of action.

Reference: Websters Dictionary

Preparedness-Activities and measures taken in advance by people and organisations to ensure

effective mobilisation of response to the potential impact of hazards, including the issuance of timely

and effective early warnings, the temporary removal of people and property from a threatened

location and the support to indigenous coping capacity of the population at risk.


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Prevention-Activities and/or physical measures to provide outright avoidance of the adverse impact

of hazards or the means to control the hazards at their source whenever possible. Due to

unpredictability and magnitude of most natural hazards, prevention is either costly or impossible.

However, most human induced hazards and other types with elements of human interaction with

nature are oftentimes preventable.

Recovery- Traditionally,actions taken after a disaster with a view to restoring the living conditions

of the stricken community and society to its normal and/or pre-disaster conditions. However,recovery

(rehabilitation and reconstruction) is an opportunity to develop and apply disaster risk reduction

measures by encouraging and facilitating necessary adjustments, based on lessons learned and better

planning and practices to reduce disaster risk.

Relief / response- The provision of assistance or intervention during or immediately after a disaster to

meet the life preservation and basic subsistence needs of those people affected. It can be of an

immediate, short-term, or protracted duration. In the relief stage, change in peoples perception and

skills development leading to acceptance of and practice of disaster reduction can be achieved,

through participation in assessment, planning and implementation.

Risk-The probability of harmful consequences, or expected losses (deaths, injuries, property,

livelihoods, economic activity disrupted or environment damaged) resulting from interactions

between natural and/or human induced hazards and vulnerable conditions. Conventionally, risk is

expressed by the notation Risk = Hazards x Vulnerability/Capacity. It is important to consider the

social contexts in which risks occur and that people therefore do not necessarily share the same

perceptions of risk and their underlying causes.

Stakeholder Coordination Committees: Composed of a team of members from various sectors of

society involved in the conduct of disaster planning.

Sustainable local community education, preparedness, and mitigation: Community education

programs designed to empower individuals and communities threatened by hazards with knowledgeto act in sufficient time and in an appropriate manner to reduce loss of life and property damage. The

programs also include activities to reduce the impact of a hazard before its occurrence. These

community based programs are perpetuated through institutional and/or educational curriculum

activities.

Tsunami Risk: Means the likelihood and consequences of a tsunami hazard.

Vulnerability-A set of conditions and processes resulting from physical, social, cultural, political,

economic, and environmental factors, which increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact

of hazards.


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p. 1,End-to-End Tsunami Response,June 2007

CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS FOR END-TO-END TSUNAMI RESPONSE

AND STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR TSUNAMI EARLY WARNING AND

MITIGATION SYSTEM

UNESCO IOC Tsunami Co-ordination Unit

Laura Kong (ITIC), Masahiro Yamamoto, Brian Yanagi (ITIC)

USA NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center Charles McCreeryJapan Meteorological Agency

June 2007

For an effective Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System (TEWS) National or Sub-National

Tsunami Warning Centres (TWC) need to quickly disseminate consistent and reliable tsunami threat

information in an understandable and concise manner. Disaster Management Organizations (DMO),

or their Emergency Operations Centres, that are responsible for public safety during natural or man-

made disasters, then need to assess the threat to their local populations based on all available

information including local knowledge, and when appropriate disseminate safety information and

instructions, and initiate public coastal evacuations. These actions comprise an End-to-End TEWS

response (monitoring and warning, alert dissemination, emergency response, public action).A Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System (TEWS) Concept of Operations describes how the

system should work. It should include high-level authority descriptions of who should be involved,

their roles and responsibilities, their actions in monitoring the hazard, and their responses to provide

for public safety.

An efficient and effective End-to-End Tsunami Response should provide operational detail to TEWS

Concepts of Operations and be developed according to the following principles:

In order to implement a successful TEWS, Tsunami Warning Centres and DisasterManagement Organizations at all levels of government (national, provincial, district and local

levels) require pre-event development of protocol and procedures documents describing their

roles, responsibilities, responses, and actions. These responses and actions should be well

coordinated and practiced within their organizations, in conjunction with external agencies.

The documents include Tsunami Event Alarm Response Plans (Standard OperatingProcedures (SOPs) by the TWC), and Tsunami Emergency Response Plans (SOPs by

Emergency Operations Centres after receiving the TWC alert) that are followed to enable

quick processing and action to be taken on a 24x7 basis. The Response Plans are comprised

of Standard Operating Procedures, Flow Charts describing multiple and simultaneous actions,

and Response Checklists. For the TWC, this may mean procedures followed when a tsunami

alert is received from international TWCs, or how a National TWC monitors earthquakes and

evaluates their tsunamigenic potential. The goal of the TWC is to then issue an urgent local /

regional / and/or distant tsunami warning to its DMO and/or its citizens. For the DMO, thiswould mean the immediate alerting of communities and households, and as required, the

evacuation of people out of the pre-designated tsunami evacuation zone. For a local tsunami

warning and evacuation order, these decisions and actions may have to take place

immediately, within minutes after earthquake ground shaking.

National, and if applicable sub-national TWCs and DMOs must create and customize writtenTsunami Emergency Response Plans (TERP) to meet their specific needs. The

tews overview sep11

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