Summary

The IOC Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWMS) at its 14th session (Banten, Indonesia, 17–19 November 2024, decided to organize an Indian Ocean Wave Exercise in 2025 (IOWave25) and established a Task Team to plan and conduct the exercise. At the most recent intersessional meeting and after consultation with key stakeholders, the Task Team IOWave25 decided to conduct IOWave25 with four different scenarios on 25 September, 15 October, 25 October and 5 November 2025. The four scenarios will allow individual Member States to decide the type and number of exercise scenarios to participate in.

This hybrid three-day pre-IOWave SOP workshops will be conducted through an online regional session on day 1, a national coordination session in each of the country (either in-person or online) on day 2, and an online regional sharing session on day 3. The workshop will provide an opportunity to share the latest information regarding the development and status of SOPs along the tsunami warning chain at all levels in the Member States, provide conceptual input, discuss, and exchange experiences, and identify areas where improvements are needed, and to discuss on the preparation for the IOWave25 Exercises. The upcoming Exercise IOWave25 this year will subsequently provide an excellent opportunity to test the national tsunami warning chains and their underpinning SOPs.