1. End-to-end Early Warning System for Tsunamis and other Natural Hazards in Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia
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About EWS Program – Lolita will give the write up tomorrow
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Meeting on Regional Cooperation on Early Warning Arrangement, Preparedness and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, July 2006
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1. Background
2. Partners
3. Progress
4. Contact Us

3. 1.1. Background
1.2. Proposed Tsunami Early Warning System in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia
1.3. International Efforts to Establish a Tsunami Early Warning System in the Indian Ocean
1.4. Expressed Need for Tsunami Early Warning System in Southeast Asia

4. 1.1.Background
The catastrophic Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004 united governments and peoples in addressing its unprecedented impacts. The devastating event, a rare occurrence in the Indian Ocean region, brought to the fore the lack of knowledge of and awareness about the hazard and, consequently, the lack of response capabilities, particularly of first responders and authorities who dealt with the large-scale emergency. Government leaders in the region were of the consensus that a tsunami early warning system is needed to prepare communities and authorities to respond to the hazard, and minimize loss of lives and destruction of property. The Special ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting on the Aftermath of the Earthquake and Tsunami (6 January 2005, Jakarta) and the Ministerial Meeting on Regional Cooperation on Tsunami Early Warning Arrangements (28-29 January 2005, Phuket) expressed their commitments to establish an early warning system for the Indian Ocean and the Southeast Asian regions. This resolve was echoed by several regional and international forums that followed. >> more

5. 1.2. Proposed Tsunami Early Warning System in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia
The Ministerial Meeting in Phuket agreed to take immediate and practical steps towards the establishment of a tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia. The Meeting provided guidance that such arrangement should build on existing institutions and mechanisms, strengthen and upgrade national systems, link national mechanisms with sub-regional and regional capabilities, integrate early warning with preparedness, mitigation and response (end-to-end), and must be integrated into existing warning systems to promote a multi-hazard approach to make the system sustainable.
The meeting recognized the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center’s (ADPC) readiness to serve as a regional center or focal point for a multi-nodal tsunami early warning arrangement in the region, and its goal to strengthen its capacity, including the incorporation of additional technological capabilities. (Prior to the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting in Jakarta, the Royal Thai Government (RTG) requested ADPC to support the development of Thailand’s national tsunami early warning capabilities and play a role as a regional center or focal point in establishing and operating a tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia. Subsequently, the RTG brought this proposal before the Special ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting in Jakarta and in the Ministerial Meeting in Phuket.)
Also, in the Ministerial Meeting in Phuket, the RTG proposed the setting up of a Voluntary Trust Fund, with UN-ESCAP as fund administrator, into which countries may contribute to promote predictable funding for the regional tsunami early warning system and to strengthen national and regional capacities in early warning, and pledged US$10 million as seed money.

6. 1.3. International Efforts to Establish a Tsunami Early Warning System in the Indian Ocean
Coordination of efforts to establish a tsunami warning and mitigation system in the Indian Ocean rests with UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO/IOC). The first International Coordination Meeting for the development of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation system (IOTWS) was held in Paris from 3-8 March 2005, followed by a second meeting in Mauritius from April These meetings agreed on a framework for the IOTWS as consisting of a coordinated network of national systems and capacities, with Member States having the responsibility for warning issuance and dissemination within their respective territories, utilizing or building on existing institutions and complementing existing warning frameworks, within a multi-hazard approach. The Intergovernmental Coordination Group (ICG) for the IOTWS, composed of interested IOC Member States from the Indian Ocean Region, will govern the system, with the IOC Secretariat as secretariat. The IOTWS/ICG was established by the 23rd session of the IOC Assembly from June 2005, and held its first meeting in Perth, from 3-5 August 2005, and its second meeting in Hyderabad, India from December For more information about the outcome of these meetings click here >>

7. 1.3. International Efforts to Establish a Tsunami Early Warning System in the Indian Ocean
These meetings established the following inter-sessional working groups:
Working Group 1 on seismic measurements, data collection, and exchange, tasked to ensure that all earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater can be reliably located and sized in a timely manner, and to review and make recommendations on upgrading and enhancement of seismic data network, communications, processing and analysis to meet a local warning response of 5-10 minutes;
Working Group 2 on sea level data collection and exchange, including deep ocean tsunami detection instruments, tasked to examine user requirements, investigate issues on data communication and interoperability of existing and future stations, address sustainability issues, and form a DART operators group to investigate issues relating to deep-ocean tsunami detection instruments network;
Working Group 3 on risk assessment, tasked to develop guidelines for risk assessment, guide emergency response managers on preparation of risk assessment products, facilitate data sharing and application of model outputs in risk assessment, facilitate capacity building, and promote the development of cost-effective and practical mitigation options;
Working Group 4 on modeling, forecasting and scenario development, tasked to develop standards for operation and application of models, facilitate model development, develop benchmark tests for model verification and validation, facilitate the development of a web-based community model, develop credible case scenarios for model application, and facilitate capacity building and knowledge transfer;
Working Group 5 on the establishment of interoperable advisory and warning centers, tasked to progress the establishment of a coordinated regional warning system for the Indian Ocean, advise on modalities of operation, methods and standards for development and issuance of warnings, develop guidelines for the distribution of tsunami warnings, and elaborate on the roles of regional and national tsunami warning centers;
Working Group 6 on mitigation and emergency management, with terms of reference still to be reported on the third IOTWS/ICG meeting in Bali from 31 July – 2 August 2006.
In the second ICG meeting in Hyderabad, the Working Group on system for interoperable advisory and warning centers
recommended the appropriate structure for the Indian Ocean region as consisting of a system of systems, where countries
receive advisories through bilateral agreements with IOC-accredited tsunami watch providers in the region.

8. 1.4. Expressed Need for Tsunami Early Warning System in Southeast Asia
Noting the exclusion of Southeast Asia in the deliberations of the First UNESCO/IOC International Coordination Meeting in
Paris, despite the sentiments expressed by ASEAN leaders and officials in the Jakarta and Phuket meetings and the need for
a warning system in Southeast Asia as had been identified by the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific (ITSU) Master
Plan, senior officials of Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam confirmed the need for
a tsunami early warning system in Southeast Asia in a Regional Meeting on End-to-end Multi-hazard Early Warning System
in Southeast Asia: Assessment of Needs, from March 2005 in Bangkok.
The countries agreed to establish the system that, at the initial stage, would include countries most in need of assistance,
such as Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, with China and the Philippines as technical resource
partners. The countries further agreed that the warning system should cover the technological and societal components of
warning (end-to-end) and integrate early warning with preparedness, prevention, mitigation, and response (comprehensive)
within a multi-hazard framework. The countries requested ADPC, as partner to the Royal Thai Government, to implement
and operate the system, and other capable organizations to assist in facilitating resource mobilization, capacity building, tool
development (e.g. hazard maps), and in advocating for the integration of coastal resource management and disaster
management. The countries recommended a participatory system where countries exchange data, information, research
results and experience; and form a pool of local experts to participate in the regional center activities, and of regional and
international experts to guide and periodically review the regional center’s activities. The declaration of the meeting is
presented in Annex 1.
Following the meeting, ADPC extended invitations to Malaysia and Singapore to join as technical resource partners. In April,
Bangladesh, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka indicated interest to participate in the system.

9. 2.1.Partners International
UNESCO/Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC)
University of Hawaii Sea Level Center
US Geological Survey Albuquerque Seismic Laboratory
Regional
Asian Institute of Technology
Indian Institute of Technology – Delhi
National
Bangladesh
Bangladesh Meteorological Department
Cambodia
Department of Meteorology
Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology

10. 2.1. Partners China China Earthquake Administration
China Meteorological Administration
State Oceanic Administration
Lao PDR
Department of Meteorology and Hydrology
Maldives
Department of Meteorology
Myanmar
Philippines
Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology

11. Partners Thailand National Disaster Warning Center
The Meteorological Department
Vietnam
Vietnam Hydro-Meteorological Service

12. 3. Progress 3.1.Regional 3.2. National 3.3. Local 3.4. Exchanges
3.5. Research

13. 3.1. Regional

14. Ongoing Projects
Collaboration with UNESCO-IOC/GLOSS on the installation and operation of tide gauges. Three tide gauges are scheduled to be established in the third quarter of 2006, one each in Myanmar, Philippines and Vietnam.
Efforts to develop 5-7 day weather forecasting capacity in the region, to support national systems, are underway. The proposal to establish regional numerical weather prediction will be tabled for discussion in the July 2006 workshop.

15. Completed Projects
Collaboration with UNESCO-IOC/GLOSS on the installation and operation of tide gauges. Two tide gauges were established in Thailand under the IOC/GLOSS program, in collaboration with the University of Hawaii Sea Level Center, supported by UNDP-Thailand.
Upgrading of the Chiang Mai seismic station into international standards (Feb 2006). Data is shared internationally through the US Geological Survey’s Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory.

16. 3.2. National

17. Ongoing Projects
Strengthening capacities of Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation in basic emergency response, crisis management, and damage assessment and needs analysis, including evacuation planning in 6-tsunami affected provinces is being supported by UNDP Thailand (Jul 2005 – Dec 2006).
Providing technical support to the implementation of the US Government’s program on Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System in Indonesia, Thailand, Maldives and Sri Lanka, in the areas of capacity building of national disaster management organizations (NDMOs), national disaster management planning, building tsunami-resilient communities, and coastal zone disaster mitigation. Transfer of technology to and shared experience with ADPC, as the more durable institution in the region, is one of the key sustainability strategies of the program. (Aug 2005 – Dec 2007)
Risk communication tools and methodologies for national warning centers and other actors involved in early warning of natural hazards in Myanmar, Thailand, Maldives and Sri Lanka, with funding support from UN-ISDR (Jan-Aug 2006)

18. Ongoing Projects
Climate and flood forecast technology transfer to Bangladeshi institutions and forecast application for local risk reduction, supported by USAID-Bangladesh through CARE Bangladesh from

19. Completed Projects
ADPC looked into the effectiveness of early warning systems for various hazards and recommended an action plan for improvement in Sri Lanka. The Government of Sri Lanka was also assisted in drawing a roadmap for disaster management. Both were supported by UNDP-Sri Lanka (May, Dec 2005)
ADPC assisted the International Telecommunication Union in the assessment of needs in the emergency telecommunications systems of Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka (Jul-Oct 2005)

20. 3.3. Local

21. 3.4. Exchanges

22. 3.5. Research

23. Contact Us Mr. A.R. Subbiah
Phone: +66 (0) to 10 Extension 405
Fax: +66 (0)
Postal address: P.O. Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand
Ms. Lolita Bildan
Phone: +66 (0) to 10 Extension 426

24. About the Meeting
The meeting on Regional Cooperation on Early Warning Arrangement, Preparedness
and Mitigation of Natural Hazards will:
1) Consider, for approval, the Early Warning System (EWS) program, incorporating gaps at regional, national and local levels. Meeting participants are to identify these gaps through stakeholder consultation, and share these through a country presentation in the meeting, for incorporation into the EWS program.
Expected Output: Updated EWS program, with priority activities identified for application for phased funding from the Voluntary Trust Fund
2) Consider the proposal to establish a regional severe weather forecast research support to national meteorological services, and develop an implementation plan of action.
Expected Output: Recommendations, with an implementation plan of action, to establish a regional severe weather forecast research support to national meteorological services
3) Detail the implementation arrangements of the ADPC-facilitated regional multi-hazard early warning arrangement, including funding access.
Expected Output: Declaration of the meeting, detailing implementation arrangements and recommendations for funding of program activities

25. Documents Agenda (PDF)
Concept Paper on Regional Severe Weather Forecast Research Support to National Meteorological Services (PDF)

26. General Information
Downloadable Document

27. Participants*
Downloadable*
*Invited

28. Outcomes (*don’t make this clickable yet)