Tsunami warning practice run for the Pacific tomorrow
A tsunami warning scenario will be simulated by the Pacific Tsunami Centre in Hawaii tomorrow to test countries’
abilities to respond to a real emergency situation.
The organisation’s geophysicist, Stuart Koyanagi, says earthquakes will be simulated in Chile and on Taiwan’s southern
coast, and fake tsunami warnings will be issued to all countries participating in the test.
Mr Koyanagi says the organisation is only providing the information and it is up to the individual countries to set up
procedures for an emergency situation.
He says the inter-governmental oceanographic commission offers training in emergency procedures, but he says his
organisation can also arrange it if individual countries are interested in it.
“We can provide people here to visit those countries if that kind of assistance is required. But generally speaking most
of the countries attend those meetings and they are able to communicate those needs eventually to us, but they go to the
international commission first.”
Stuart Koyanagi