Oman hosts seminar on tsunami inundation modelling, evacuation plans

Muscat, Represented by the National Multi Hazard Early Warning Centre at the Civil Aviation Authority, the Sultanate of Oman hosts a regional workshop titled 'Modelling inundation from tsunami waves and preparing evacuation plans for the northwest Indian Ocean'. The 5th day workshop is attended by 70 participants from northwest Indian Ocean countries and representatives from the National Committee for Emergency Management (NCEM), the Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance (ACDA), academics from Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) and international experts and observers, ONA reported. The workshop is conducted in pursuance of a programme of discussions on tsunamis, early warning methods and public awareness, where it falls within the purview of the Northwest Indian Ocean Enhanced Tsunami Warning project, which is undertaken by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Indian Ocean (Unescap) and the UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (Iocunesco). The workshop, sponsored by the UNESCO 's International Oceanographic Commission and the Indian Ocean Economic Commission, seeks to devise inundation reference maps and draft preliminary evacuation plans. It lays emphasis on effective community response to the dangers of tsunamis, with the prime aim of realizing the objectives of UNESCO's 'Decade of the Oceans' tsunami programme, which targets communities exposed to tsunami, envisages 100 percent preparedness by 2030. The workshop's recommendations are expected to outline modern methods and practices on evacuation plans before and after disasters like tsunamis, it will also provide guidelines for national and regional centres, advising them about how to handle disasters and deal with warnings as soon as they are issued. Source: Bahrain News Agency