The United Nations has called for every person on earth to be covered by warning systems. The Indian coastlines, which are some of the most populated areas in the world, are prone to tsunamis generated from subduction zones such as Makran, the northern part of the Sunda trench and submarine landslides. The arrival time for these events could range between 15 minutes for the Andaman Nicobar Islands to 2-3 hours for the mainland. This is a time scale where effective warning and being prepared to act can save many lives. 

The Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) is an official tsunami service provider for 25 countries along the Indian Ocean Coasts. Through achieving improvements to the practical and operational capacities of ITEWC, grounded in local participation, the “People-Centred Tsunami Early Warning for the Indian Coastlines (PCTWIN)” takes concrete steps towards ensuring communities are more disaster resilient. PCTWIN is officially endorsed by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) under the United Nations Ocean Decade initiative.

Expected Outcomes 

Annual Meeting 

• Year 1 a look back: To have an update of the progress of tasks, opportunities, criticalities, barriers, possible adjustments
• Interactions and engagement: To discuss the flow of different tasks and Work Programs (WPs), opportunities and barriers in the way of coordination of tasks and engagements of researchers with the project
• Year 2 a look forward: To plan ahead for year two activities, identify possible risks and mitigation measures
• To discuss and leverage synergies with UNESCO-IOC Working Groups
• To discuss PCTWIN's products and possible links with UNESCAP Makran Project and the GTM

Stakeholder Meeting

• Meeting PCTWIN's first milestone: identification of vulnerable groups
• Engaging with stakeholders and establishing an initial dialogue about perception of tsunami risk
• Prepare the grounds for mixed method data collection for WGs 1 and 3
• Establish linkages with the UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready Recognition iniatives in the stakeholder communities.