Progress in the project was reported at the August 2022 meeting of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWMS) Task Team on Tsunami Preparedness for Near-Field Tsunami Hazards, which is Chaired by Dr Mahmood Reza Akbarpour Jannat from Iran, along with Vice Chair, Mrs. Weniza from Indonesia. The Task Team is especially relevant to the project, as it assists Member States threatened by a near-field tsunami threat to adapt and integrate their national warning chains and SOPs, particularly in relation to community preparedness for self-evacuation. It also guides the implementation of Indian Ocean Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme in the IOTWMS Member States with a near-field tsunami threat.
Along with the Secretariat, the task team includes thirteen senior representatives from several of the (IOTWMS) member states, including Oman, Australia, India, Pakistan, and international experts. Dr Harkunti Rahayu, Professor Dilanthi Amaratunga and Professor Richard Haigh are all members of the task team. Details were provided on several aspects of the project, including Dr Rahayu, who spoke about tsunami risk reduction into spatial planning and critical infrastructure preparedness, and Professor Haigh, who provided feedback on the challenges associated with understanding capacities at the local level. The Task Team is developing important recommendations that will inform the next ICG/IOTWMS XIII, which takes place in Bali, in November 2022.