Summary

The ITP-TEWS 2024 training will be conducted by the International Tsunami Information Centre (ITIC) and the Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la Armada de Chile (SHOA), in collaboration with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC). The ITP-TEWS-Chile will use Chile as a working example of an end-to-end tsunami warning and mitigation system, with SHOA as its national warning centre. It will follow the same format at the ITP-Hawaii 2023, where Hawaii was used as a working example with PTWC as its warning centre. ITIC is hosted by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (U.S.) and Chile in partnership with UNESCO-IOC. PTWC serves as the primary Tsunami Service Provider (TSP) for the Pacific and the TSP for the Caribbean.

Recognizing that local tsunamis remain the most challenging operation for countries, the ITP-TEWS Chile will focus its training on Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for warning and emergency response as guided by the PTWS National Tsunami Warning Center Minimum Competency Levels and the Local-Source Tsunami Response Best Practice. The training will also focus on community preparedness and tsunami evacuation planning in the context of the UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme.  Tsunami Survivor Stories and other community awareness building best practices will be shared to demonstrate how these can become a cornerstone for sustaining awareness over generations, especially for saving lives from local tsunamis.  On the last two days, a tsunami exercise will be conducted requiring country decision-making and action using national products supplemented by the PTWC Enhanced Products. During the training, participants are expected to give a 15-minute presentation on their country’s tsunami warning and mitigation system, including their tsunami SOPs and plans for Tsunami Ready.