Exercise Pacific Wave 2017: 15-17 FEBRUARY 2017 (Click here)
Exercise Pacific Wave 2016: 1-5 FEBRUARY 2016 - Summary Report available - NEW
A Pacific-wide tsunami exercise is an effective tool for evaluating the readiness of ICG/PTWS countries and to identify changes that can improve its effectiveness. The international tsunami exercises were first conceived and conducted in 2006 under the leadership of the PTWS Exercises Task Teams with strong contributions from the ITIC, PTWC, and JMA. Altogether there have been five IOC-coordinated exercises, Exercise Pacific Wave 2006, 2008, 2011, 2013, and 2015. The exercises have been used to evaluate the effectiveness of the PTWS and measure the readiness of countries to respond, as national tsunami warning centers and emergency response agencies and the public, to distant and local tsunamis. Exercise Pacific Wave 2011, 2013, and 2015 were also used to introduce and obtain feedback, test, and validate the PTWC new enhanced forecast products that became official on 1 October 2014.
At the 26th session the ICG/PTWS held in Honolulu, USA, from 22 to 24 April 2015 (ICG/PTWS-XXVI), it was agreed that the Northwest Pacific Tsunami Advisory Center (NWPTAC) should proceed with its development of enhanced products for the North West Pacific, targeting 2018 for its complete transition.
At the session, it was also approved to conduct Exercise Pacific Wave 2016 (PacWave16) during the first quarter of 2016 as a regional exercise involving only the 16 countries that have designated Tsunami Warning Focal Points (TWFP) for receiving Northwest Pacific Tsunami Advisories (NWPTA) from the Japan Meteorological Agency's Northwest Pacific Tsunami Advisory Center (JMA NWPTAC). This exercise is intended to support the development of improved tsunami procedures and the NWPTAC Enhanced Products. The PTWC Enhanced Products are available for information purposes only. NWPTA feedback from PacWave16, and from the next international exercise, PacWave17, will be used to finalize the NWPTAC Enhanced Products for official implementation in 2018.
The 16 countries currently subscribing to NWPTAC products are: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Federated States of Micronesia, France (French Polynesia), Indonesia, Malaysia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea (South), Russian Federation, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. Other countries in the NWPTAC coverage area may also receive the products by officially registering TWFP information with the IOC PTWS Technical Secretary (Bernardo Aliaga, b.aliaga@unesco.org).
PacWave16 took place 1-5 February 2016 with 11 countries participating. Twelve post-exercise evaluations were received (China, China Hong Kong, France (French Polynesia), Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Korea (South), Russian Federation, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, and Vietnam . The NWPTAC products were evaluated as useful, and overall, countries were satisfied with the format and content of the different products. Continued close coordination between the NTWC and NDMO is important. Training will be needed for new staff to learn how to interpret and use the products. All countries are expected to be ready for the changeover in 2018.
Exercise Documents
Document Title |
Exercise Pacific Wave 2016 - Summary |
Exercise Pacific Wave 2016 - IOC Information |
Exercise Pacific Wave 2016 Exercise Manual (PDF, 383 KB) |
Manual on Experimental NWPTAC Enhanced Products for PacWave16 (draft PDF, 2.38 MB) NWPTAC Coverage Area and Participating Countries, Dec 2015 (PDF, 586 KB) |
How to Plan, Conduct, and Evaluate Tsunami Exercises IOC Manual and Guides 58, 2013) |
PTWC Enhanced Products (Web Site) User’s Guide for the PTWC Enhanced Products for the PTWS (IOC TS 105 rev, Aug 2014)
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IOC Tsunami Warning Focal Point (TWFP) and National Tsunami Warning Center (NTWC) Definitions (IOC Executive Council, July 2014) (PDF, 53 KB) Updating information on National Tsunami Warning Centres (NTWC) and Tsunami Warning Focal Points (TWFP) for the PTWS region according to new definitions (23 January 2015) |
Exercise Pacific Wave 2015 - Summary Report (TS 117, April 2015) (PDF, 2.5 MB) contains Volume 1 (exercise manual) and Volume 2 (evaluation results) |
PacWave16 Scenarios
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PacWave16 Master Schedule of Events List (MSEL) (PTWC, NWPTAC)
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PacWave16 Scenarios - Messages
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PacWave16 - UNESCO News Note, 3 February 2016 (PDF, 224 KB) |
PacWave16 Exercise Evaluation Form (available starting 5 February 2016) Please complete online by 26 February 2016, at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/pacwave16_eval
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