MEDIA RELEASE

Bureau of Meteorology

21 July 1998

Tsunami Warning Services in the Australian Region

In the Pacific Ocean the Tsunami Warning System (ITSU) has been set up to provide Pacific basin countries with surveillance and monitoring of tsunamigenic earthquakes, and for providing warnings to member countries when tsunamis are expected to be generated. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) in Hawaii has overall responsibility for issuing tsunami advices and warnings to ITSU members. It is operated by the National Weather Service of the USA. It advises appropriate authorities of the occurrence of an earthquake, and indicates whether or not a tsunami has been confirmed and provides estimates of travel time across the Pacific. It is not however in a position to predict actual run-up heights for the eventual landfall of a tsunami in Australia, as this depends on the complexities of coastal geography and offshore bathymetry.

There are currently no international arrangements in place for tsunami warnings in the Indian Ocean.

In Australia the Bureau of Meteorology has responsibility for issuing tsunami warnings. For areas covered by the PTWC the warnings are issued by the Bureau under guidance from the PTWC. At the present time the Australian Tsunami Warning System (ATWS) is being established by the Bureau of Meteorology, the National Tidal Facility (NTF), the Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO) and Emergency Management Australia (EMA), with the involvement of the RMIT Seismology Research Centre and the Centre for Earthquake Research in Australia (CERA).

The ATWS will provide tsunami warning services to all Australian coasts. AGSO will provide the seismological expertise (earthquake detection and analysis). NTF will provide sea-level monitoring expertise (tsunami detection). EMA will provide expertise in community education, human communication and disaster management liaison. The Bureau of Meteorology provides communications, scientific support and warning provision/dissemination. CERA and the Seismology Research Centre will provide technical support.

A trial of the ATWS has been underway in Western Australia, primarily focusing on the highly economically sensitive North West shelf area, which is an area of high tsunami vulnerability. As part of the implementation of the System, an upgrade to the tide gauge on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean is planned. This will provide a state of the art early warning post for tsunamis which may be generated in the seismically active trench south of Java. A project to calculate likely run-up values for tsunamis for key Australian coastal areas is also planned. This project is not yet fully funded, but will provide essential information with which objective forecasts of likely tsunami height can be made for vulnerable coastal areas.

At the most recent meeting on the ATWS (late June 1998), it was decided that agreement on the plan for the ATWS, including a National Tsunami Warning Plan, would be in final draft form for the next meeting scheduled for the late spring of 1998. Subject to funding arrangements and organisational approvals, it is anticipated that the ATWS will be operational before the middle of 1999.

Inquiries: Phil Parker (03) 9669 4510