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.

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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.

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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 14-16 April 2005. 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 21-30 June 2005, and held its first meeting in Perth, from 3-5 August 2005, and its second meeting in Hyderabad, India from 14-16 December 2005.

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Expressed Need for Tsunami Early Warning System
in 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.

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