From Early Warning to Early Response

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission North-Eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean and connected seas Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (NEAMTWS) From Early Warning to Early Response Tsunami Exercise NEAMWave 14 SUMMARY OF RESULTS 1

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the UNESCO/IOC concerning the legal status of any country or territory, or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of the frontiers of any country or territory. Acknowledgements: This brochure presents the results of the Exercise NEAMWAVE 14 coordinated by UNESCO/IOC. We would like to acknowledge the contribution of the Dipartimento della Protezione Civile (Italy), the Centre Opérationelle de Gestion Interministérielle des crises (France), and the European Commission Directorate General Humanitarian Aid & Civil Protection (DG ECHO) This brochure has been produced with the support of the European Commission in the context of the project From Early Warning to Early Response: NEAMWave 14 Bibliographic reference: Published in 2015 by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization 7, Place de Fontenoy, 75352, Paris 07 SP UNESCO 2015 (IOC/BRO/2015/7) 2

FOREWORD Following the disastrous 2004 tsunami, in which over 230,000 lives were lost around the Indian Ocean region, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO was mandated by its Member States to facilitate the expansion of global coverage of Tsunami Warning and Mitigation Systems (TWS). This included the establishment of the Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System in the North-Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Connected Seas (NEAMTWS). During the Twenty-third Session of the IOC Assembly (IOC-III/3) held from 21 to 30 June 2005, the Intergovernmental Coordination Group (ICG) /NEAMTWS was formally established through Resolution III-14. 2015 marks, therefore, the 10th anniversary of establishment of the ICG/NEAMTWS which is in its interim operational phase thanks to the provision of tsunami service to Member States by four National Tsunami Warning Centres acting as Candidate Tsunami Service Providers (CTSPs): FRANCE: Centre d Alerte aux Tsunamis (CENALT) GREECE: Institute of Geodynamics National Observatory of Athens (NOA) ITALY: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) TURKEY: Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute (KOERI) A tsunami early warning system (TEWS) if well developed can help saving lives. For this reason, the TWS must maintain a high level of readiness in order to act in an efficient and effective manner in case of a tsunami event. This is particularly true in the NEAM region. Although less frequent than in the Pacific and Indian Ocean, tsunamis can hit the Mediterranean and North-East Atlantic coastal areas, and have already done so in the past, causing extensive loss of lives and properties. Tsunami risk in the Mediterranean area is increased by the extremely short distance between the tsunamigenic areas and the exposed coast, the time could be less than one hour from the occurrence of a tsunamigenic event to the impact of the waves on the coast. With the aim of testing the readiness of TWS, the UNESCO/IOC through its ICGs conducts tsunami exercises regularly. In this context, the exercise NEAMWave 14 exercise was conducted on 29 to 30 October 2014 based on 4 different scenario events (Western Mediterranean, Black Sea, North- East Atlantic, and Eastern Mediterranean) and formed by 3 phases: Phases A, B and C. The most important results of this exercise are summarized in this brochure. 3

OBJECTIVES The Exercise NEAMWave 14 proposed the following objectives: Objective 1 To validate and evaluate the Candidate Tsunami Service Providers (CTSPs) dissemination process of issuing Tsunami Messages in the NEAM (North-Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Connected Seas) region, also utilizing new communication technologies adopted during NEAMWave 12 (IOC/2012/TS/103 VOL.1 + VOL.2) Objective 2 To validate and evaluate the procedures for countries to receive the Tsunami Messages issued by the CTSP through their National Tsunami Warning Centres (NTWCs), or the country Tsunami Warning Focal Points (TWFPs), or the country Tsunami National Contacts (TNCs). Objective 3 To test the dissemination of the warning messages to the relevant agencies responsible for emergency response (CPA). Objective 4 To assess the organizational decision making process about public warnings and evacuations thus raising awareness of/ launching/contributing to the development of a national policy to tackle the tsunami risk. Objective 5 To identify best practices (to be shared), criticalities (to be addressed by the programme in the future activities), and room for improvements in the entire process (including the procedures already tested between CTSPs and TWFPs/NTWCs and also the heterogeneous panorama of national capacities to handle the tsunami risk). Objective 6 To test procedure for international assistance between the European Commission (EC) and the participants. 4

PHASE A Phase A was the simulation of the first step of the early warning process in case of a tsunamigenic seismic event. It consisted of the detection of the event and the timely provision of the related alert messages by the CTSP (CENALT, NOA, KOERI and IPMA) to the Tsunami Watch Recipients (TWRs), as well as to the Emergency Response Coordination Centre of the European Commission. NEAMWave 14 consisted of 4 different scenarios. Each CTSP was in charge of one scenario: CENALT of the Western Mediterranean scenario, KOERI of the Black Sea scenario, IPMA of the North-East Atlantic scenario, and NOA of the Eastern Mediterranean scenario. NEAMWave 14 Partecipation in Phase A Participating countries Non-member States Non-participating countries 0 1000 km Source for national borders U.N. Cartographic Section Image 1 - Participating countries in Phase A Some general conclusions and specific issues and recommendations on how to improve tsunami exercises in the NEAM region were raised by the CTSPs. The most relevant are the following ones: t Despite several problems experienced, t t the exercise demonstrated the CTSPs advanced level of operational status Closer collaboration between the CTSPs is needed, not only for the successful execution of tests and exercises, but also for real cases. From the TWRs perspective the most important outcome is that the tsunami t message format is too complex and that important items cannot be easily and quickly identified. It was proposed, for example, to sort the list of countries in watch or advisory level, by amplitude of waves. Future exercises should not only focus on the effectiveness of the various communication methods, but on raising the awareness of all NEAMTWS Member States and also to favour a closer communication with them before, during and after the exercises. 5

PHASE B Phase B was open to Member States by invitation and it was foreseen that different types of exercise could be included, such as an orientation exercise, a drill, a table-top exercise or a functional exercise. Fifteen (15) countries out of 20 participated in Phase B: Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Monaco, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Depending on their interests, each participant could choose among four different scenarios: Black Sea, North-East Atlantic, Western Mediterranean, and Eastern Mediterranean scenarios. Italy, Spain, Turkey, and UK (40%) chose to perform a table top exercise, Cyprus chose to perform a drill, France selected to perform a functional exercise, and Ireland chose the orientation seminar (see Figure 3). NEAMWave 14 Partecipation in Phase B Participating countries Non-member States Non-participating countries 0 1000 km Source for national borders U.N. Cartographic Section Image 2 - Participating countries in Phase B CPA representatives provided comments on the exercise through an online questionnaire, the following ones are the most relevant. t Customization of the original message: Original messages sent by the NTWCs were easily understood by almost all the participants; however France and Turkey customized the messages in order to facilitate the interpretation by national CPA/EMO. 6 t Communication channels used between the NTWC/TNC/TWFP and the national CPA/EMO: Fax was used by Cyprus, Spain and Turkey; email was used by Cyprus, Malta, Spain and Turkey; phone was used by Malta and Turkey; and sms was used only by Turkey. France used a specific web network between JOC and CEA and Ireland met together in the emergency coordination centre (see table 2).

COUNTRY SCENARIO PHASE B Black Sea North East Atlantic Western Mediterranean Eastern Mediterranean Cyprus Egypt France Germany Greece Ireland Israel Italy Lebanon Malta Monaco Portugal Romania Spain Turkey UK Table 1 - Scenario chosen by each participating Member State Figure 3 - Type of exercise implemented in Phase B by the participating countries (Not all countries provided information regarding the type of exercise implemented) 7

COUNTRY Cyprus France Ireland Malta Spain Turkey COMMUNICATION CHANNELS USED Email and fax Specific web network between JOC and CEA (CENALT) Met together in the emergency coordination centre Email and telephone system Email and fax Email, fax and mobile phone at national level; email, fax, mobile phone and sms at national level and local level communication Table 2 - Communication channels used during NEAMWave 14 (Not all countries provided information about communication channels) 8 Preparations for the exercise: Italy, Ireland, Malta, Spain, Turkey and United Kingdom organized a number of preparatory events before taking part in the exercise Usefulness of the exercise to validate and assess the dissemination of warning messages to the agencies responsible of emergency response: The exercise was considered to be useful by the participating countries to assess the dissemination of warning messages to the agencies in charge of the emergency response, especially for Ireland for which it was the first time for discussion. Adequate understanding of messages: All the participating countries agreed that messages received by the national CPA/EMO were well understood. Suitability of the messages received: France, Malta, Spain, Turkey, and UK considered that the messages received are appropriate to make an adequate evaluation of the warning situation. Establishment of levels of alert: Cyprus France, Italy, UK have defined the levels of alert and Ireland, Malta, Spain and Turkey have not defined them yet. Estimation of a time-line from the message reception until the alert message was sent down the chain: The responses show an equitable result, where 50% of the participants have answered yes (Italy, Spain, Turkey, and UK) and a 50% (Cyprus, France, Ireland, and Malta) of the participants have answered no. Media contacted: Only the Portuguese Civil Protection Authority and IPMA made a joint press release Procedures established to regulate relationship with the media in case of a tsunami warning: Malta and the UK had established procedures to regulate the relationship with the media in case of a tsunami warning; however Cyprus, France, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and Turkey still need to develop those procedures in order to be able to established and maintain a good relation with the media. Evacuation plans established at local level: Although the results show clearly that there is a gap of evacuation plans at local level that needs to be addressed by the countries, they have indicated their concern and they are developing them. At the moment, only Italy has established evacuation plans at local level.

PHASE C Phase C was only performed for the Eastern Mediterranean scenario at the international level on 30 October 2014 in order to simulate a real situation. Indeed, when a country is hit by a big disaster, it needs to work out the damage scenario before asking for an effective international assistance. The Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) of the European Commission (EC) through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) was responsible for planning and activating the procedures for provision of international assistance to those affected countries which requested it. During this phase the CTSP distributed their initial messages concerning the earthquake and tsunami. The ERCC got in contact with several CP authorities in potentially affected countries to enquire about a possible request for assistance from their part after their preliminary impact assessment. Requests for international assistance and offers were channelled through the UCPM, via the ERCC. NEAMWAVE14 Phase C proved to be an excellent opportunity to test the internal procedures at UCPM level but also to showcase the modus operandi of the UCPM to countries that are not part of this Mechanism (e.g. the active participation of Israel in this Phase managed to introduce UCPM s capabilities to its national CP authorities). In total, seven countries took part in Phase C: Cyprus, Israel, Italy and Greece requesting international assistance, while Germany, Portugal and Spain offering international assistance. The majority of the countries that took part in Phase C of the exercise found useful, in particular because it gave the opportunity to practice ERCC procedures, and as well it helped to identify which are the bottlenecks in the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). During this Phase, the participation by the Joint Research Center (JRC) of the European Commission was also valued positively. The JRC produced and distributed through ERCC NEAMWave 14 Partecipation in Phase C Participating countries Non-member States Non-participating countries 0 1000 km Source for national borders U.N. Cartographic Section Image 4 - Participating countries in Phase C 9

two situation reports for information of all CP authorities of the UCPM. This was expected to increase the CP s awareness of the tsunami impact at the shores of the affected countries, complementing the information received earlier by the CTSP. It was also noted that the messages distributed by the CTSPs provide the information needed but in a format that may be further simplified. It was noticed that it would have been important to have the opportunity to overview what was going on in the area struck by the tsunami. Having the full picture of the countries hit by the tsunami and the countries offering international assistance would help to tackle the operational challenges of such a complex scenario from both an international and a national perspective. ERCC commented that an establishment of an early contact between ERCC and the participant countries and the persons responsible in every CP authority (before the exercise) may have further enhanced the participation of countries in the exercise. COUNTRY PHASE C EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN SCENARIO Country requesting international assistance Country offering international assistance Cyprus Israel Italy Germany Greece Portugal Spain Table 3 - Phase C of the Exercise NEAMWave 14 10

CONCLUSIONS The key operational components of a tsunami warning centre are to provide real-time monitoring, alert of seismic and tsunami activities, timely decision making, and dissemination of tsunami warnings, advisories and information. The chain begins with data collection and ends with saving lives. The Exercise NEAMWave 14 provided a unique opportunity to all stakeholders involved in the NEAMTWS to test existing operational capabilities of this chain system and to identify the areas of improvement, both in technical and operational aspects of the system. The exercise showed the advanced operational level of the CTSPs. However, it was noticed that a closer collaboration among the CTSPs is needed. Interoperability among them is one of the key areas of work for the next years in order to reach the full implementation of NEAMTWS. The exercise was marked by a strong participation of the civil protection authorities (14 CPAs performing a total of 17 phases B, out of a total of 20 countries participating to the exercise). In particular Phases B were implemented through orientation workshops, drill exercises, table top exercises, and functional exercises. For certain countries (e.g. Lebanon, Romania, UK) this exercise was the first occasion to dialogue among the actors concerned with tsunami risk at national level. For the first time, countries bordering the Black Sea, like Romania and Russia, participated in the exercise, with a dedicated scenario. This exercise also tested for the first time the mainstreaming of the SOPs of the ERCC of the European Commission into the NEAMTWS system for providing international assistance through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism in case of major disasters. During the exercise some communication issues have been identified, providing the opportunity to learn some lessons regarding, for example, the use of communication technologies and interoperability issues among service providers. There is still room for improvement in internal coordination (among IOC Secretariat, Task Team members and CTSPs; e.g. TNC databases or consideration of the information of the application forms). The following lessons are the most important ones learnt which will guide the future activities of NEAMTWS in order to reach its full operational status: The content and format of the messages should be adjusted and tailored to CP authorities needs; Graphic information, such as maps, are desirable in the messages; More collaboration, cooperation and exchange of good practices are needed among the CTSPs More information, education and awareness raising activities should be done in the NEAM region. In order to raise tsunami awareness amongst the general public, the media should be involved as well. The public need to understand the reason for carrying out these kinds of exercises, and the efforts that governments, agencies, civil protection and other involved actors are undertaken with the aim of having a consolidated end-to-end tsunami warning system. With these perspectives tsunami exercises provide a very good opportunity to increase preparedness and to reduce tsunami risk. Finally the experimental Phase C seemed positive: It facilitated the process of engaging CPAs to participate in the exercise; Subsequent requests to perform a Phase C also for other scenarios were received; Interest for the Union CP mechanism was shown from non EU countries. 11

List of acronyms CENALT CPA CTSP DG ECHO EC EMO ERCC ICG INGV IOC IPMA JRC KOERI NEAMTWS NOA NTWC SOP TWR TEWS TWFP TNC UCPM UNESCO Centre d Alerte aux Tsunamis Civil Protection Authority Candidate Tsunami Service Provider Directorate General Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection European Commission Emergency Management Organization European Emergency Response Coordination Centre Intergovernmental Coordination Group Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Instituto Portuês do Mar e da Atmosfera Joint Research Centre Kandilli Observatory And Earthquake Research Institute North-Eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean and connected seas Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System National Observatory of Athens National Tsunami Warning Centre Standard Operating Procedure Tsunami Warning Recipient Tsunami Early Warning System Tsunami Warning Focal Point Tsunami National Contact European Union s Civil Protection Mechanism United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 12

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