UNESCO and the European Commission hold Workshop to Develop Plan for Regional Tsunami Warning

Para Chile, Colombia, Ecuador y Perú

• © UNESCO / G. Santillán

From October 12 to 15, UNESCO and the European Commission hold a regional workshop on the coordination of inter-institutional and regional mechanisms for preparedness and early warning in the event of a tsunami. The purpose of the workshop is to develop a programme for tsunami warnings in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, exchange experiences from these countries and implement preventive education programmes.

The workshop is one of the activities of Learning and Adapting to Tsunamis in Colombia, Ecuador, Chile and Peru, a regional project which UNESCO has been implementing since 2009 in coordination with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the Permanent Commission for the South Pacific, under the VI Action Plan for South America of the Disaster Preparedness Programme of the European Commission (DIPECHO).

The goals of the workshop are: to promote an exchange of experiences among participating countries and institutions related to procedures, protocols, plans and programmes for preparedness in the event of a tsunami; to develop a short and medium-term plan for setting up and developing the Regional Tsunami Early Warning System on the coast and islands of the southeast Pacific Ocean; to define and propose guidelines for education and training for preparedness in the event of a tsunami and the development and implementation of early warning systems.

More than 40 representatives of the following institutions from Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru take part:

• Departments responsible for the issue of disaster risk reduction of ministries of education
• Institutes housing early tsunami warning systems
• National Seismology Institutes
• National risk management or emergency relief systems
• Humanitarian organizations operating in the above-mentioned countries

Authorities from UNESCO, the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the Permanent Commission for the South Pacific, the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) and cooperation agencies such as OXFAM, the Red Cross, Save the Children and others, are attending.

The workshop takes place on 12 - 15 October at the Hotel Atton, Alonso de Córdova 5199, Las Condes, Santiago

Main participants:

UNESCO
Bernardo Aliaga, programme specialist with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO
Jonathan Baker, UNESCO programme specialist in San José, Costa Rica

Permanent Commission for the South Pacific
Rodrigo Núñez, Scientific Director of the Permanent Commission for the South Pacific

General Direction of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO)
Álvaro de Vicente, Director of South American Bureau
Borja Miguelez, representative of ECHO Emergency Response in South America

Colombia
Efraín Rodríguez Rubio, Representative of the Comité Técnico Nacional de Alerta ante Tsunamis (“National Technical Committee for Tsunami Warnings”).
Neftalí Correa, Mayor of Tumaco, tsunami high-risk area in the department of Nariño.

Ecuador
Hugo Yepez, Director of Instituto Geofísico del Ecuador (“Institute of Geophysics of Ecuador”)

Peru
Walter Flores, Regional Coordinator of the Regional System of Early Tsunami Warnings in the Southeast Pacific
Hernando Tavera, Director, Instituto Geofísico del Perú (“Institute of Geophysics of Peru”)

Chile
Patricio Oyarzún, National Director of School Safety, Ministry of Education
Miguel Vásquez, Director of the Department of Oceanography, SHOA.
Sergio Barrientos, Director of Seismological Services, Universidad de Chile.

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For further information or to request an interview, please do not hesitate to contact:

Knowledge Management Section of OREALC/UNESCO Santiago

Stefanie Block
s.block@unesco.org
Tel: (56-2) 472 4606

Carolina Jerez
c.jerez@unesco.org
Tel: (56-2) 472 4607 / (56-9) 9 289 01 75

• 08-10-2010