Symposium: Advances in Tsunami Warning to Enhance Community Responses

The IOC Assembly decided at its 29th session (21-29 June 2017, Paris) to conduct a symposium on enhancing existing TSP and NTWC operational tsunami forecasting to further develop warning products and enhancing timely, accurate, reliable and effective decision-making and community response, involving experts from monitoring networks, seismology, tsunami forecast modelling and warning centres, maritime authorities, and national and local emergency management authorities with advice on product requirements.

Tsunamis are "short-fused" hazards that can impact coastal communities within minutes, and at best only hours. This requires extremely rapid threat assessment and warning of communities, which is both technically and practically challenging. Recognising the needs of emergency responders and at-risk coastal communities for even more timely and accurate tsunami warnings than currently available, the Symposium will address the following issues: 

1. Bring emergency responders and users of tsunami warnings together with scientists and warning authorities to exchange information on requirements and possible solutions. 
2. Review latest and potential new technologies and procedures for estimating tsunami threat and test their suitability and feasibility for providing more timely and accurate warnings. 
3. Consider ways of estimating uncertainties associated with threat assessments and optimal ways of conveying to decision-makers. 
4. Examine ways of utilising enhanced tsunami threat information in making decisions with regards to emergency responses. 
5. Provide information on the latest technologies for disseminating tsunami warning information to responders and communities. 
6. Formulate roadmaps for developing and implementing new technologies, procedures and their application in enabling more effective and inclusive community responses to tsunami threats. Experts from the relevant fields (monitoring, assessment, warning, communications, and response) will be invited to provide key note presentations on specified topics to help guide roundtable discussions within each session. Participants will also be invited to present posters. 

Further Information

More information about the program of the symposium, accommodation options, and visa requirements will be made available at: http://www.ioc-unesco.org/tsunami-symposium