ITIC TRAINING PROGRAMME (ITP) – CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES (2)

Regional Training on “Strengthening Standard Operating Procedures for Tsunami Warning and Emergency Response and the Development of the ICG/CARIBE-EWS PTWC New Enhanced Tsunami Products

18 – 22 Nov 2013, Bridgetown, Barbados

The Caribbean and its adjacent seas, including the Atlantic, have been the source region for 11 % of the world’s fatal tsunamis over history, with almost 100 tsunamis observed that have impacted 23 countries of this region. Caribbean nations must be prepared to face the dangers of tsunami from distant, regional and local sources. While many Caribbean Member countries continue to depend primarily on the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) for the warning advice to their National Tsunami Warning Centres, the reality of the dangers posed by local and regional sources does require Member States to: (i) identify and assess their tsunami risk; (ii) improve and expand the capabilities of their National Tsunami Warning Centres (NTWC)/Tsunami Warning Focal Points (TWFP) and Disaster Management Offices (NDMO) in order to respond to a tsunami in a timely and responsible manner to save lives; and (iii) engage in regional collaboration to build a strong warning and mitigation system. In this context, the International Tsunami Information Center (Hawaii), in collaboration with the IOC ICG/CARIBE-EWS Secretariat, the Caribbean Tsunami Information Center (CTIC), and the Caribbean Tsunami Warning Program (CTWP) organise a Regional Tsunami Training Workshop on Strengthening Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Tsunami Warning and Emergency Response and the Development of the ICG/CARIBE-EWS PTWC New Enhanced Products to be held in Bridgetown, Barbados,18-22 November 2013. The training has the support of UNESCO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for Barbados and the OECS through the Enhancing Resilience to Reduce Vulnerability in the Caribbean (ERC) Project. Participants are: a) members of the country’s national tsunami warning centre/tsunami warning focal point, national disaster management office, or geohazards agency; and b) responsible for and involved in tsunami warning and emergency response operations, and/or responsible for their country's Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Participipating countries for this session are: Aruba, Barbados, Curaçao, Dominica, France (Guadeloupe, Martinique), Grenada, Guyana, Netherlands (Bonaire), St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.

Location

Bridgetown,
Barbados

Organisers and Staff

Organisers
Mr Bernardo Aliaga Rossel
Dr Laura Kong
Ms. Alison Brome
Mr. Marlon Clarke
1

Opening, Tsunami Warning and Emergency Response – Overview

1.1

Opening Ceremonies

1.2

Logistics and Administrative Items

1.3

Regional Partner Support to the ICG/CARIBE-EWS Tsunami Early Warning System - Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH)

2.1

Course Overview

2.2

End-to-End Tsunami Warning and Emergency Response – Overview

2.3

End-to-end Tsunami Warning – Stakeholders, Roles and Responsibilities, Standard Operating Procedures, and their linkages

2.4

Lessons Learned from Past Tsunamis - Warning and Emergency Response

2.4b

Lessons Learned from Past Tsunamis - Warning and Emergency Response

3.1b

Country Presentations (St. Vincent, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela) - 10 min/country

3.2

Discussion: Challenges for achieving end-to-end TWS: Data, Resources, Communication, Stakeholders, Coordination, Evacuation

4

DAY 2: SESSION 4

4.1

Earthquake Seismology for Tsunami Warning - nomenclature, faulting, magnitude

4.10

Case Study: Warning Dissemination and Public Alerting – Authoritative agencies, media, and the public – JMA-NHK Warning Dissemination

4.11

Emergency communications - Robustness, reliability, redundancy. Technologies for the downstream transmission of warnings to communities

4.12

Learning Activity (individual followed by group discussion) – Official and Unofficial Information

4.13

Tsunami Exercises: Types, Guidance, International Examples

4.14

Tsunami preparedness: International Perspectives and Examples

4.15

Tsunami preparedness in the Caribbean: Exercise CARIBEWAVE 2013, US TsunamiReady, Caribbean TsunamiSmart, and other examples

4.16

Public Coastal Evacuations: Inundation Modeling, Evacuation Maps, Routes and Signage, Safe Return

4.17

Vertical Evacuation and Refuge: Progress in Designing Tsunami-Resistant Structures

4.18

Learning Activities (individual followed by group discussion) – Tsunami Warning and Emergency Response Timeline - What happens when?, Frequently-asked Questions

4.19

TWC Operations Challenges and Limitations: Real-time earthquake source characterization and Tsunami Assessment

4.2

Tsunami Science for Tsunami Warning - generation, propagation, impact

4.20

TER Operations Challenges and Limitations: Rapid Alerting and Evacuation

4.3

Caribbean Tsunami Hazards - historical and paleotsunami records

4.4

IOC Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions, ICG/CARIBE-EWS

4.5

Tsunami Warning Centre Standard Operating Procedures – Concept of Operations, Overview on Routine and Event Operations, Flow Charts, Timelines, Checklists

4.6

ICG/CARIBE-EWS International Tsunami Warning Centers - PTWC Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Monitoring and Detection of Earthquakes and Tsunamis, Evaluation of Tsunami Threat, Forecasting, Types of Products, and Message Dissemination

4.7

Tsunami Warning Decision Support Tools: Earthquake and Sea Level Monitoring, PTWC SMS Alerts, Historical Databases, Tsunami Travel Time Calculation. (Installation and Training as needed during unscheduled times)

4.8

Tsunami Emergency Response Standard Operating Procedures - Overview on Stakeholder Roles and Coordination, Event Operations, Timelines, Checklists

4.9

Case Study: Warning Dissemination and Public Alerting – Authoritative agencies, media, and the public – US Emergency Alert System, Hawaii example

5

PTWC Proposed New Enhanced Products

5.1

PTWC Proposed ICG/CARIBE-EWS Enhanced Products: Overview - Why, What, When and How to Use, Limitations

5.2

PTWC Proposed ICG/CARIBE-EWS Enhanced Products: Discussion and Feedback

6.1

Real-time Earthquake Source Characterization - Advanced Topics, such as W-phase Centroid Moment Tensors, Finite Fault Rupture, Slow Earthquakes, Great and Gigantic Earthquakes

6.1b

Community-level preparedness and education – Schools, Businesses, Special Needs Populations, Tourism Sector, Ports and Harbors

6.2

Tsunami Assessment - Advanced Topics, such as Travel Time and Wave Forecasting including Techniques, Use and Limitations

6.2b

Small Group Exercise - Evacuation Mapping

6.3

Creating Timeline-driven SOPs - How to Guidance, Explanation of Warning Center Templates for Distant and Local Threats, Flow Charts and Checklists.

6.3b

Tsunami Emergency Response – Local Tsunami Threat – Wakayama, Japan Case Study

6.4

SOP Breakout Groups: Using Templates to Develop Timeline of Processes and Actions (Criteria for Action, Messages, Checklists, Information Dissemination, Media Information)

6.4b

Creating Timeline-driven SOPs - How to Guidance, Explanation of Response Templates for Distant and Local Threats, Flow Charts and Checklists

6.5

Breakout Groups - Final Discussion

6.5b

SOP Breakout Groups: Using Templates to Develop General Roles and Responsibilities and Timeline of Processes and Actions (Criteria for Action, Evacuation Checklists, Information Dissemination, Media Information)

6.6

Breakout Groups - Final Discussion

7.1b

Table Top Exercise – Background and Scenarios for Day 5

Agenda Documents

Agenda Code Title
2.1 Course Overview Tsunami Warning and Emergency Response SOPs, and Development of PTWC Enhanced International Products
2.3 End To End Tsunami Warning – Stakeholders, Roles & Responsibilities, SOPs, Linkages
2.4 Lessons Learned from Past Tsunamis Warning and Emergency Response
3.1 Departamento Meteorologico Aruba Standard Operating Procedures
3.1 ITIC TRAINING PROGRAMME (ITP) – CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES (2) Commonwealth of Dominica
3.1 State of SOP in Martinique and Guadeloupe
3.1 ITIC TRAINING PROGRAMME (ITP) – CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES (2) Barbados Tsunami Warning Protocol and Standard Operating Procedures
3.1 DOMINICA ADAPTED TSUNAMI WARNING PROTOCOL.
3.1 Saint Lucia’s Tsunami Contingency Plan
3.1 Tsunami Protocols and Programme in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
3.1 Tsunami Readiness in Trinidad and Tobago
3.1 Implementation of a Tsunami Early Warning in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
4.1 Earthquake Seismology for Tsunami Warning: Nomenclature, Faulting, Magnitude
4.10 Case Study: Warning Dissemination and Public Alerting – Authoritative agencies, media, and the public – JMA-NHK Warning Dissemination
4.13 The Role of Exercises and Drills in Tsunami Education, Awareness and Preparedness
4.14 ITIC TRAINING PROGRAMME (ITP) – CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES (2) Preparedness: International Perspectives and Examples
4.15 Tsunami Preparedness in the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions
4.16 Public Coastal Evacuation: alerting and moving people, Inundation modeling and maps, Evacuation routes and signage, safe return evacuation planning: Role and value of Tsunami inundation modelling
4.3 Tsunami Warning Center SOPs Concept of Operations, Overview of Routine and Event Operations, Flow Charts, Timelines and Checklists
4.4 IOC Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions
4.5 ITIC TRAINING PROGRAMME (ITP) – CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES (2) Caribbean Tsunami Hazards
4.7 Keeping Authorities Informed: Available TW Decision Support Tools Alert, Sea Level, Earthquakes, Historical Database, Tsunami Travel Times
5.1 PTWC Proposed ICG/CARIBE-EWS Enhanced Products: Why, What, When and How to Use, Limitations
7.1 Day 4: ESC-13 Exercise Southeastern Caribbean 2013 General Instruction
7.1 Next Steps agreed by Participants

Participant Stats:

Staff and organisers 4
Confirmed 16
Not Confirmed 12
Not-participating 0
Total 32
Groups: IOC , ITIC, TSR
Created at 17:56 on 14 October 2013 by Mr Bernardo Aliaga Rossel
Last Updated at 07:28 on 4 September 2025 by Ms. Sofie de Baenst
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