The Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (CARIBE EWS)

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1 The Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (CARIBE EWS) Christa von Hillebrandt-Andrade CARIBE EWS and US CTWP October 20, 2016

2 1. Objective Provide an update on the status of the UNESCO IOC Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (CARIBE EWS) World Tsunami Awareness Day Commemoration in the Caribbean 20 October 2016

3 Over the past 500 years more than 75 tsunamis have killed 4484 people Figure published in: von Hillebrandt-Andrade, Christa, Minimizing Caribbean Tsunami Risk, Science, Vol. 341pp

4 Then and Now US Virgin Islands 30 deaths Puerto Rico 140 deaths Dominican Republic 1790 deaths

5 UNESCO IOC Intergovernmental Coordination Group for Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (CARIBE EWS) 32 MS and 16 Territories (6 Associate MS of UNESCO); 16 SIDS

6 UNESCO IOC Intergovernmental Coordination Group for Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (CARIBE EWS) ICG XI Cartagena, Colombia, April 5-7, 2015 Next Meetings 2017: San Jose, Costa Rica and 2018: TBD

7 Meet our Caribe EWS Team Chair Christa von Hillebrandt- Andrade (USA) Vice Chairs Gerard Metayer (Haiti) Milton Puentes (Colombia) Paul Martens (Sint Maarten) WG 1- Monitoring and Detection Jean Marie Saurel (France) WG2 - Hazard Assessment Silvia Chacón (Costa Rica) WG 3 - Tsunami Related Services Antonio Aguilar (Venezuela) WG 4 Preparedness, Readiness and Resilience Patrick Tyburn (Martinique France) TT CTIC Business and Sustainability Plan Pedzi Grigori (Curacao, Kingdom of Netherlands) TT CARIBE WAVE 17 - Patrick Tyburn (Martinique France) TT Volcanic Activity and potential Tsunamis - Paul Martens (Sint Maarten- Kingdom of Netherlands) Group of Experts for Other coastal hazards - TOR and composition to be determined

8 CARIBE EWS Service Model is Community Centered

9 Communities Need and Want to Know Where to Go in case of a Tsunami Define the hazard and evacuation zones thru tsunami inundation modeling, 90 meter resolution in coastal bathymetry and topography is required, if not results are not reliable. If unavailable, Baseline tsunami zones (bathtub model) are used (eg. 30 m/1.6 km inland)

10 Tsunami Signage is Key for Awareness of Residents and Visitors of our Vulnerable Communities

11 Public Education and Outreach Materials with Consistent Messaging

12 Community Educational Outreach Activities

13 CARIBE WAVE Regional Tsunami Exercise is held every March Most Recent, March 17, ,000 participants, In 2016 every MS participated Scenarios developed with Local experts Communications and response plans tested Many MS extended their participation into communities Developing and promoting a culture of evacuation

14 Next CARIBE WAVE exercise March 21, 2017 Costa Rica Scenario Cuba Scenario Northeastern Antilles Scenario

15 PTWC Provides Threat Information and Countries Issue the Warnings US NWS PTWC issues an initial public tsunami threat bulletin or information statement within a couple of minutes of earthquakes above M 6.0 in the CARIBE EWS If there is a tsunami threat the initial bulletin is followed up within minutes with an updated threat bulleting with forecasted wave heights; additional disaster decision support info sent only to officially designated Tsunami Warning Focal Points and National Tsunami Warning Centers PTWC 16

16 Seismic and Sea Level Data Contributions Key for Early Warning and Increasing Steadily Since 2006 Seismic Stations increase from 10 to 126 tsunami bulletins can be issued in 5 minutes instead of the previous minutes. Sea Level Stations 5 to 78 stations tsunami detection dropped from 3 hours to 5-30 minutes

17 Tsunami Warning Focal Points, National Tsunami Warning Centers and Tsunami National Contacts MS is responsible for issuing warnings thru its Tsunami Warning Focal Point/National Tsunami Warning Center Tsunami National Contacts represent the Member States IOC Tsunami Program (Bernardo Aliaga) maintains the list of these designations TWFP Anguilla, UK TWFP USVI, USA TWFP Saint 18 Kitts and Nevis

18 Tsunami Response Plans and Standard Operating Procedures outline actions to be taken before, during and after a tsunami Response Plans

19 Tsunami Ready Community Recognition Program 52 Communities Recognized As of 2015 a UNESCO IOC CARIBE EWS Program 20

20 Caribbean Tsunami Information Center Established in 2013 thru an MOU between UNESCO and Govt. of Barbados Focus on: Organized several training and capacity building activities Development of outreach materials and Facilitating preparedness and awareness projects Office has not been staffed since beginning of 2016, but should reopen shortly thanks to funding from the IOC and Kingdom of the Netherlands

21 US NWS Caribbean Tsunami Warning Program Established by NOAA NWS in 2010 Located in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Primary Focus is supporting: Sea level, seismic and GNSS (GPS) monitoring efforts Standard Operating Procedures CARIBE WAVE exercises Tsunami Ready Program

22 World Tsunami Awareness Day Commemoration in the Caribbean 20 October 2016 Recommendations and Conclusions 100 s of thousands of lives and billions of dollars at risk in the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions from Tsunamis Fortunately the Infrequency of the tsunamis has not disarmed us and CARIBE EWS with its Member States has made very significant advances Committed to continue developing the best tsunami warning system for the protection of lives and livelihoods Recognize the engagement of the Member States and their coastal communities and support of Donors Synched with Sendai Platform and UNISDR WTAD provides another opportunity to further advance CARIBE EWS