Summary

The United Nations has called for every person on earth to be covered by warning systems. The Indian coastlines, which are some of the most populated areas in the world, are prone to tsunamis generated from subduction zones such as Makran, the northern part of the Sunda trench and submarine landslides. The arrival time for these events could range between 15 minutes for the Andaman Nicobar Islands to 2-3 hours for the mainland. This is a time scale where effective warning and being prepared to act can save many lives. 

The Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) is an official tsunami service provider for 25 countries along the Indian Ocean Coasts. Through achieving improvements to the practical and operational capacities of ITEWC, grounded in local participation, the “People-Centred Tsunami Early Warning for the Indian Coastlines (PCTWIN)” takes concrete steps towards ensuring communities are more disaster resilient. PCTWIN is officially endorsed by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) under the United Nations Ocean Decade initiative.