Operational Users Guide for the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (PTWS)

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Operational Users Guide for the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (PTWS) Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission technical series 87 Operational Users Guide for the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (PTWS) January 2009 UNESCO 87 Operational Users Guide for the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (PTWS) January 2009 UNESCO 2009 IOC Technical Series No. 87 Paris, 2 February 2009 English only EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (PTWS) was founded in 1965 by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, following 5 major destructive Pacific tsunamis in the previous 19 years, to help reduce the loss of life and property from this natural hazard. The Operational Users Guide for the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (PTWS) provides a summary of the tsunami message services currently provided to the PTWS by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC), the NOAA West Coast / Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WC/ATWC) and the Japan Meteorological Agency’s (JMA) Northwest Pacific Tsunami Advisory Center (NWPTAC). This 2009 version, formerly called the Communications Plan for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific, has been completely revised to include descriptions of the operations of these three Centres in the main body, with additional technical information given in Annexes. The Guide is intended for use by the responsible agencies within each country of the PTWS who are recipients of tsunami messages from the international Centres. Section 1 provides the objectives and purposes of the Guide. Section 2 describes the administrative procedures, the organizations involved, and how to subscribe to services offered. Section 3 provides an overview of the three operational Centers, while Sections 4-6 describe in detail the services each of them provide. Annexes provide additional background on tsunamis, earthquake source characterizations, message interpretation and emergency response, sea level measurements, travel time calculations and wave forecasting. The Guide’s primary purpose is to provide a summary of the operational procedures of the Centers, an overview of the seismic and sea level monitoring networks used by the Centers, the criteria for issuing tsunami messages, and the methods by which messages are sent. The three international Centres work closely together to ensure the timely delivery of tsunami messages with consistent information. The analyses and evaluations provided by the Centers, while performed using slightly different methods and data networks, are usually very similar. It is recommended, however, that when discrepancies do occur the responsible national agencies should assume the more conservative case in making their decisions regarding life safety. Tsunami messages from the Centers are sent to the official PTWS Tsunami Warning Focal Points (TWFPs) of each country, as submitted to the Intergovernmental Oceonographic Commission. Designation of official Tsunami Warning Focal Point(s) and a single authority within each country for the dissemination of information is essential to avoid any confusion that could result if conflicting information is disseminated from multiple authorities. (IOC/2009/TS/87) Operational Users Guide for PTWS IOC Technical Series No. 87 Page (i) TABLE OF CONTENTS page SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................1 1.1 OBJECTIVE..................................................................................................................1 1.2 INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION............................................................................1 1.3 TSUNAMI WARNING CENTERS – AN OVERVIEW ...................................................2 SECTION 2 - ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.....................................................................5 2.1 COORDINATION, FACILITATION AND CAPACITY STRENGTHENING ENTITIES OF THE PTWS............................................................5 2.1.1 UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) ..................5 2.1.2 IOC Tsunami Co-ordination Unit (TCU)..........................................................5 2.1.3 International Tsunami Information Center (ITIC)............................................5 2.2 PTWS OPERATIONS: INTERNATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING CENTERS .............6 2.2.1 United States of America................................................................................7 • Pacific Tsunami Warning Center ..........................................................7 • West Coast / Alaska Tsunami Warning Center ....................................8 2.2.2 Japan..............................................................................................................8 • Japan Meteorological Agency ..............................................................8 2.3 USERS GUIDE RESPONSIBILITIES...........................................................................9 2.4 TNC AND TWFP DESIGNATION.................................................................................9 ANNEX I: ICG/PTWS ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND GOVERNANCE .................10 ANNEX II: TWFP AND TNC FORMS....................................................................................13 SECTION 3 - PTWS OPERATIONS.........................................................................................17 3.1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................17 3.2 GENERAL DESCRIPTION.........................................................................................17 3.3 AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY...................................................................................18 3.4 OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES................................................................................18 3.5 DETECTION NETWORKS .........................................................................................19 3.5.1 SEISMIC NETWORKS AND ANALYSIS......................................................20 3.5.2 SEA LEVEL NETWORKS AND ANALYSIS .................................................21 3.6 TSUNAMI BULLETINS...............................................................................................23 3.6.1 TYPES OF BULLETINS ...............................................................................23 3.6.2 FORECAST POINTS....................................................................................24 3.6.3 TSUNAMI BULLETIN IDENTIFIERS............................................................25 IOC Technical Series No. 87 Operational Users Guide for PTWS Page (ii) page 3.7 DISSEMINATION OF MESSAGES............................................................................27 3.7.1 AUTHORITATIVE AGENCIES.....................................................................27 3.7.2 DISSEMINATION COMMUNICATION METHODS......................................28 3.7.3 DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES....................................................................29 3.8 REFERENCES...........................................................................................................30 ANNEX I: PTWS SEA LEVEL NETWORK.............................................................................31 SECTION 4 - PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER (PTWC)............................................39 4.1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................39 4.2 AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY .....................................................................................39 4.3 OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES................................................................................39 4.3.1 Response and Analysis................................................................................39 4.3.2 Message Types and Criteria.........................................................................40 4.4 OPERATIONAL LIMITATIONS..................................................................................41 4.4.1 Earthquake Parameters...............................................................................41 4.4.2 Initial Estimated Arrival Times ......................................................................41 4.4.3 Area of Warnings and Watches....................................................................42 4.5 TYPES OF PTWC MESSAGES .................................................................................42 4.5.1 Tsunami Information Bulletin........................................................................42 4.5.2 Regional Fixed Tsunami Warning Bulletin....................................................42 4.5.3 Regional Expanding Tsunami Warning and Watch Bulletin .........................42 4.5.4 Pacific-Wide Tsunami Warning Bulletin........................................................43 4.5.5 Communication Test....................................................................................43 4.6 PTWC ALERT STATUS DEFINITIONS .....................................................................43 4.6.1 Tsunami Warning.........................................................................................43 4.6.2 Tsunami Watch............................................................................................43 4.6.3 Tsunami Advisory.........................................................................................43 4.6.4 Tsunami Information.....................................................................................44 4.6.5
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