Capacity assessment of tsunami preparedness in the Indian Ocean – status report 2018: executive summary

Recognising the importance of conducting an up-to-date capacity assessment of tsunami preparedness in the Indian Ocean 13 years after the first survey, the ICG/IOTWMS at its 11th session (Putrajaya, Malaysia, April 2017) established a Task Team on Capacity Assessment of Tsunami Preparedness (TT-CATP). The Task Team designed and conducted an online survey covering all aspects of the end-to-end tsunami warning and mitigation system. Twenty ICG/IOTWMS Member States provided inputs to the assessment. The capacity assessment status report:

• provides a baseline of the current status of tsunami preparedness capacity in the region;
• identifies specific gaps; and
• prioritises capacity development requirements at both the regional and national levels.

Some of the recommendations of this report are:

1. Provide support for the development of community-level evacuation Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs);
2. Provide training and share Member States’ experience of different types of evacuation infrastructure.
3. Develop educational materials such as teaching kits, and encourage the incorporation of tsunami awareness into the school curricula.