Why is the International Tsunami Warning System (ITWS) and the International Tsunami Information Center (ITIC) one of the most successful international scientific programs in disaster reduction?

ITWS and ITIC are one of the most successful international scientific programmes in disaster reduction for many reasons. Among them:

a) Insures dissemination of Tsunami Warnings throughout the Pacific,which result in reduction in loss of life and property.(The specific numbers of lives saved or property preserved cannot be quantitatively estimated. However, since the formation of ITWS and ITIC all major tsunami events have been detected and warnings have been disseminated. All the tsunami data has been documented. Without these warnings and the international cooperation and communications established byITWS and ITIC, the death toll could be substantially higher. Without the data collected by ITWS and ITIC our understanding of the tsunami disaster and its effects would not be as comprehensive as it is. Without this understanding and documentation, operational techniques of forecasting and warning could not be as effectively implemented.It is estimated that since the establishment of ITIC and the International Tsunami Warning System, more thant thirty years ago, thousands of lives have been saved and millions of dollars in property damage have been averted because of the planning promoted by ITIC, and ICG/ITSU Member Nations.

b) Encourage applied type of research focusing on practical applications of effective disaster warning services which directly benefit the countries of the Pacific.(For example such research has involved mathematical modelling which has resulted in tsunami travel time charts and tsunami energy distribution, giving accurate prediction of the destructive wave arrival, height information, and extent of expected inundation. These applied research results are then used by planners and policy makers in establishing criteria for evacuation, and for coastal zone management.Such applications result in greater safety and reduction of the effects of the tsunami disaster. Hilo, Hawaii, is an example of such research that resulted in better zoning and standards of construction.)

c) Promote the exchage of scientific and technical personnel and data among the participating nations. (This forms the basis for disaster assessment and reduction in each of the participating countries. Training of scientists and technical personnel results in better informed officials who in turn institute programs of training and education which result in reduction of the hazard in their own countries).

d) ITWS and ITIC contribute effectively in the preparation of materials for public education and preparedness for the tsunami disaster in all the participating nations of the Pacific.(ITIC has spearheaded such educational efforts by publishing educational materials, brochures, children's books which are used by member nations in school and community programs in the countries that participate in the Tsunami Warning System.)