Intergovernmental coordination for the Tsunami warning system in the pacific

The Twentieth Session of the International Coordination Group for the Tsumani Warning System in the Pacific was held in Vina del Mar, Chile, 3-7 October 2005 under the Chairmanship of Dr François Schindelé. It as attended by 44 participants from twenty UCG/ITSU Member States, six organizations, and three observers. The Session reviewed progress made during the inter-sessional period 2003-2005 and drafted its work plan for the period 2006-21007. This work plan will focus on (i) continued support for the International Tsunami Information Centre (ITIC); (ii) planing, conduct and assessment of a Pacific-wide Tsunami Warning exercise in May 2006; (iii) support for ICG/ITSU participation in the ICG/IOTWS inter-sessional Working Groups established at ICG/IOTWS-1; (iv) completion and assessment of the Assessment Questionnaire for ICG/ITSU Member States; (v) completion of the Integrated Tsunami Data Base (ITDB); (vi) support for development of the Tsunami Teacher-translations into French and Spanish; and vii) support for the Working Group on the Central American Pacific Coast Tsunami Warning System (CAP-TWS). The Group requested a budget of US$ 180.000 for the biennium 2006-2007 to accomplish the work plan; noted that only $64,000 is presently funded, and that Member States will provide approximately $1, 290.000 in extra-budgetary Support. The Group decided to rename the "International Coordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific (ICG/ITSU)" to the "Intergovernmental Coordination Group for he Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/PTWS)" (-to align its name with the other tsunami warning and mitigation systems and their governing bodies established under the auspices of the IOC; to revise the Terms of Reference for the ICG/ITSU to align them with the approaches adopted for other tsunami warning and mitigation systems and accommodate the unique role of the ITIC; to disignated that the IOC's ITIC shall assume the role of Secretariat for the ICG/PTWS, that the Director and Associate Director of ITIC also officially hold the titles of the Director and Associate Director of the IOC Secretariat for the ICG/PTWS, and serve as ex-officio office holders of the ICG/PTWS along with the past-Chair of the ICG/PTWS. The Group also decided to form inter-sessional working groups on (i) seismic measurements, dart collection and exchange; (ii) sea-level measurements, date collection and exchange; (iii) tsunami hazard identification and characterization, including modelling, prediction and scenario development; (iv) resilience building and emergency management; and (v) interperability of regional, sub-regional and national Tsunami Warning and Mitigation Systems in the Pacific. The Group further decided to (i) establish an inter-sessional working group on the medium term strategy for the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System; (ii) recommend that an end-to-end tsunami exercice be carried out for the Pacific Ocean during the second week of May 2006 and form a task team to design and carry out the exercice; ad (iii) recommend GLOSS explore the possibilities of using the international channels of the global Geostationary Meteorology Satellite system and request WMO to allow the use of the GTS to transmit sea-level data from GLOSS multiple purpose sea-level stations to regional, sub-regional and national tsunami warning centres. The Group thanked Dr. François Schindelé and Dr. Charles McCreery for having served six years in the positions of Chairman and Vice-Chairman of ITSU, respectively. Capt. Rodrigo Nunez (Chile) and Mr Fred Stephenson (Canada) were elected as Chairman and Vice-Chairman respectively by the Group. The Group decided to organize its Twenty-first Session in 2006, planned for the last week of April and accepted the offer of Australia to host the Twenty-first Session. The Group also recommended that on the occasion of the next election of officers, to elect two Vice-Chairpersons, following the example of ICG/IOTWS.