IORA Workshop: Tsunami Early Warning Systems - Lessons-learnt from the 2018 Tsunamis in Indonesia 26-28th September 2019 Jakarta, Indonesia

On December 26th, 2004, a gigantic tsunami wave hit the shores of a number of countries lining the rim of the Indian Ocean. It was caused by the second-strongest earthquake ever measured, with a magnitude of 9.3 on the Richter scale. The epicenter of the quake was close to the north-western tip of Sumatra. More than 250.000 people perished, mainly in Indonesia, Thailand, India, and Sri Lanka. 

Despite the installation and apparent technical functioning systems, a series of further tsunamis have still caused a substantial number of fatalities. The two recent ones in 2018, in Sulawesi and in the Sunda Straits, have shown that additional efforts are required to contain the looming risk of damages and loss of lives caused by tsunamis in the Indian Ocean region.

With view to the importance of these lessons learnt for the whole Indian Ocean region, the forthcoming IORA Workshop will be held on the sidelines of the IOC-UNESCO International Symposium, arranged by the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs of Indonesia(CMMA), the Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education (MORTHE), the Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG), the Indian Ocean Tsunami Information Centre (IOTIC) and ICG/IOTWMS secretariat of IOC-UNESCO, the Geoforschungszentrum (GFZ) Potsdam, as well as the Indonesian Tsunami Experts Association (IATSi).

Re-known experts will be invited to reflect on the existing warning system in Indonesia, and to share their conclusions as well as lessons learned from catastrophic tsunamis in other regions that are equipped with warning systems.

Expected key Workshop outcomes:

• Recognition of the performances and key challenges in the effective functioning of the warning systems in recent tsunami events in Indonesia.
• Exchange of the latest experiences on the performance of warning systems and pre- defined evacuation strategies for different tsunami risks.
• Development of a strategic roadmap and related action plans toward efficient tsunami risk communication, coordination and organizational functioning; and
• Defining elements of long-term community-based awareness and development programmes which are sensitive to the respective cultural and social context. Defining appropriate communication channels across different IORA Member States.

Stay up to date and follow our social media pages! #IORADRM #IORA2019