The Ministry for Lands and Mineral Resources in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (UNESCO-IOC) commenced a four-day workshop from 16th to 19th November to review the National Tsunami Warning and Response Standard Operation Procedure (SOP).
The workshop was officially opened by the Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources (MLMR), Mr Jale Kunawalu and anticipates that the outcome is directly aligned to the National Risk Reduction Policy (NDRRP) and the 5-Year & 20 Year National Development Plan.
Mr Kunawalu highlighted the importance of reviewing the tsunami warning and response SOP given Fiji’s current effort to upgrade the national seismic network and the extension of the tsunami siren network from Suva to Rakiraki.
The review will enable Fiji to have a strengthened end-to-end tsunami early warning system. The workshop also allows the Mineral Resources Department (MRD) and the Emergency Response Planning Unit of the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) to reassess the tsunami warning criteria and products for the enhancement of the tsunami siren SOP and the 2017 National Tsunami Response Plan.
The workshop participants were mostly from the Seismology unit of the MRD and the Emergency Response Planning Unit of the NDMO.
The SOP review is facilitated by members of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/PTWS) - Dr Laura Kong, Director, International Tsunami Information Centre (ITIC) Hawaii; Mr Charles McCreery, Director, Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC); Mr Stuart Weinstein, Deputy Director, Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre; Dr Bill Fry, Lead Geophysicist, GNS New Zealand and Mr Jiuta Korovulavula, Tsunami Unit Programme Officer at Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (UNESCO-IOC).
The Tsunami Warning and Response SOP review workshop is supported by UNESCO-IOC in collaboration with the Mineral Resources Department.