The fifth session of the Intergovernmental Coordination group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWS) will meet in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) from 8 to 12 April.
The session will be opened by Datuk Maximus Ongkili, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation of Malaysia, Ian Sopaheluwakan, Chairperson of the IGC/IOTWS and Deputy Director for Scientific Services at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, and Peter Koltermann, the head of the Tsunami Coordination Unit at UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).
The meeting will evaluate progress on the development of the Indian Ocean system, specifically in the areas of: seismic detection; sea-level measurement; risk assessment; numerical modelling and scenario development; inter-operable warning centres; and mitigation, preparedness and response.
However, the main focus of discussions will be proposals for a network of Regional Tsunami Watch Providers (RTWP) for the Indian Ocean. This network, to be established between 2009 and 2011, will eventually replace the interim advisory service currently provided by the Tsunami Warning Centre in the Pacific (PTWC) in Hawaii and the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) in Tokyo.
The Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System was set up in 2005 at the initiative of UNESCO-IOC, in response to the tragic December 2004 tsunami that struck Indian Ocean coastlines. Its first meetings were held in Perth (Australia, 2005), Hyderabad (India, 2005), Bali (Indonesia, 2006) and Mombasa (Kenya, 2007).
