Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
8.3.4 Effectiveness: operational arrangements, behavioural changes, and goal
attainment
The goal of the ICGs is to coordinate the development of tsunami warning systems that
can deliver tsunami watches and warnings. In the context of UNESCO's programme and
lows: 'Effective end-to-end early warning systems for tsunamis and other sea level-related
hazards established by Member States at national and regional levels, including disaster pre-
paredness and mitigation measures'. Performance indicators and benchmarks at the end of
2013focusedon(a)improvedlapsetime forregional watchmessages aftertsunami-generat-
ing earthquakes (benchmark: less than 20 minutes in all regional warning systems); and (b)
number of countries at risk from tsunamis developing gender-sensitive tsunami community
preparedness programmes (benchmark: ten).
For an analysis of the of the evolution of the four ICGs, it will be useful to explore
major changes in their lives according to three categories: (a) changes in key concepts and
principles, (b) changes in the group of leading actors, and (c) expansions in the functional
viewed below.
The TWS are built around the concept that a limited number of operational tsunami
watch providers (TWPs) would distribute tsunami watches to the national TWFPs of the re-
gion (see example from NEAMTWS in IOC,
2007b
). These, in turn, would issue tsunami
warningstotheirrespectivecompetentagencies,mosttypically,disastermanagementorgan-
izations. The TWPs do not have defined sub-regional responsibilities, as data redundancy
and overlaps in coverage actually reinforce data availability and accuracy.
Within each region covered by a TWS, the role played by countries hosting TWPs and
TICs is particularly important. In terms of changes in the group of leading actors, it is note-
worthy that in the Indian Ocean, the interim phase with the provision of tsunami watch ser-
vices by US and Japanese agencies was positively concluded in 2011 with the launch of
TWPs in Australia, India, and Indonesia. In the case of the Mediterranean and north-eastern
