Progress in the project was reported at the July 2022 meeting of Intergovernmental Coordination Group of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWMS) Working Group 1, Tsunami Risk, Community Awareness and Preparedness, which is Chaired by Dr Harkunti Pertiwi Rahayu. Among other responsibilities, the working group, is responsible for assisting, developing and strengthening the overall capacity and capability of Member States in tsunami risk assessment and mitigation, community awareness and preparedness.
Along with the Secretariat, the working group includes fourteen senior representatives from several of the (IOTWMS) member states, including Oman, Australia, India, Malaysia, Mauritius, Thailand and Pakistan. Professors Dilanthi Amaratunga and Richard are expert members of the group. Details were provided on several aspects of the project, including ‘Disaster Risk Reduction into Spatial Planning’ and the Survey of IOTWMS Guidelines Tsunami Response during Covid-19. Dr Rahayu also provided insights into how the Working Group can contribute disaster management & preparedness activities as part of the UN Ocean Decade, which runs until 2030. Harkunti Rahayu, Dilanthi Amaratunga and Richard Haigh have also been asked to take forward work on the development of guidelines for critical infrastructure and tsunami preparedness, which will be a further opportunity to embed the project findings into regional developments.