PREPARING FOR THE NEXT TSUNAMI: TRAINING IN SEISMOLOGY AND TSUNAMI WARNINGS IN THE INDIAN OCEAN REGION

The December, 2004, Tsunami highlighted the need to increase capacity building in the countries most severely affected by the international disaster. In response to this need the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System (IOTWS) Program, under the framework of the IOC, was developed in order to create “tsunami resilient” communities in the Indian Ocean region. The IOTWS has several components including technical assistance, regional hazard detection, prediction, and warning formulation, national dissemination and communication of warnings, local knowledge and preparedness to act, and regional or sub-regional exchange of lessons learned and best practices.

A series of training courses are currently underway in the Indian Ocean region designed to improve the understanding of earthquake seismology and tsunami warnings of staff employed in the day-to-day running of the national tsunami warning systems. Learning is directed through lecturers complemented with computer-based practical sessions. To date, three courses have been run, in Indonesia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka, each between 5 and 9 days in duration and sponsored by US Agency for International Development (USAID), the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), and the US Geological Survey (USGS). A further seven courses are planned in the region and will be sponsored by USAID and the USGS.