Hong Kong Observatory actively participates in the activities of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Disaster Mitigation System

9 October 2023

Senior Scientific Officer of the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO), Ms Queenie Lam, joined the Chinese delegation consisting of representatives from the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center (NMEFC) to attend the 30th Session of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/PTWS-XXX) under Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) held in Nuku'alofa, Tonga from 11 to 15 September 2023, and the 11th Meeting of the ICG/PTWS Regional Working Group on Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System in the South China Sea Region (WG-SCS XI) in Guangzhou, China on 25-26 September 2023. She was elected as the Vice-Chair of the Regional Working Group at the latter meeting.

Delegations from a total of 18 countries (Note 1) participated in the ICG/PTWS-XXX session. During the session, the Member States shared their progress and future plans in various areas including tsunami monitoring, early warning and message dissemination, risk assessment and response actions. Discussions were also held on the proposed revisions of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) manuals of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC), Northwest Pacific Tsunami Advisory Center (NWPTAC) and South China Sea Tsunami Advisory Center (SCSTAC) and the framework of minimum competency levels for the operational staff of the National Tsunami Warning Centers (NTWC), the plan of 2024 Pacific Tsunami Wave Exercise; and the optimisation of the governance structure of the ICG/PTWS to further promote the implementation of the United Nations Oceans Decade Tsunami Program (UNODTP).

The HKO commenced the trial operation of the Backup South China Sea Tsunami Advisory Center (Hong Kong) (BSCSTAC) on 29 March 2022, and officially launched the BSCSTAC on 29 March 2023. At the WG-SCS XI meeting, the performance of the BSCSTAC during the trial and official operation period was recognised to be in line with the international requirements. The meeting also agreed the BSCSTAC to conduct scheduled operation to assume the role of the SCSTAC for two weeks in December 2023, providing tsunami advisory products and messages to the nine countries (Note 2) surrounding the South China Sea when necessary.

The ICG/PTWS, established in 1965, serves as the core platform for the IOC of UNESCO to coordinate intergovernmental responsibilities for tsunami warning and mitigation. Its main objective is to promote cooperation among coastal countries in the Pacific to effectively respond to the threat of tsunamis by designing, developing, maintaining and improving the tsunami warning and mitigation system to safeguard lives and property. The ICG/PTWS session is held every two years.

The WG-SCS, established in 2009, acts as a liaison platform and provides guidance to the countries surrounding the South China Sea for the establishment and operation of the South China Sea Region Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System within the framework of the ICG/PTWS. Its primary purpose is to enhance tsunami risk assessment, monitoring, early warning, response to marine hazards, and capacity building. The WG-SCS holds annual meetings.

Note 1: China, United States, Canada, France, Japan, Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Chile, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Vanuatu.

Note 2: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam

Senior Scientific Officer of the HKO, Queenie Lam (first from left), joining the Chinese delegation led by Professor Yu Fujiang, Director of the NMEFC (middle), at the ICG/PTWS-XXX session.

Senior Scientific Officer of the HKO, Queenie Lam (first row, second from left) taking a group photo with the representatives of the Member States and Technical Secretary of the ICG/PTWS, Dr Öcal Necmioglu (first row, third from left), at the WG-SCS XI meeting.