The Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions at its eighth session (ICG/CARIBE EWS-VIII, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, 29 April–1 May 2013), decided to conduct tsunami exercises named CARIBE WAVE on an annual basis leaving each Member State to define its level of participation. At its thirteenth session (Willemstad, Curacao, 23–27 April 2018), the ICG/CARIBE-EWS, recommended that Exercise CARIBE WAVE 19 take place on 14 March 2019 at 14:00:00 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) with the following two hypothetical scenarios: • A magnitude Mw 6.0 earthquake associated with an underwater volcanic eruption and subsequent collapse of an unstable sector of Kick’em Jenny which generates a tsunami • A tsunami generated by a magnitude Mw 8.5 earthquake located on the Northern Panama Deformed Belt. The purpose of this exercise is to practice and evaluate the operations of the CARIBE-EWS Tsunami Warning System along the coasts of the Caribbean and adjacent regions. It provides an opportunity to evaluate PTWC CARIBE-EWS products and the corresponding readiness of emergency management organizations and communities at risk including operational lines of communications, tsunami response procedures, and evacuation procedures, and promote tsunami preparedness at community level. Regular exercising of response plans is critical to maintain readiness for an emergency. For the first time, this exercise will allow an evaluation of both tsunami products associated with volcanic events and Member State/Territory response plans for tsunami crises associated with volcanic events. All Emergency Management Organizations (EMO) are encouraged to participate and involve the communities at risk. The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) will issue one initial dummy message on 14 March 2019 at 14:00 UTC, and disseminate over all standard Tsunami Warning Centre broadcast channels. This dummy message shall be issued to test communications with Tsunami Warning Focal Points (TWFPs) and National Tsunami Warning Centres (NTWC), and to start the exercise. As of 14:05 UTC, the PTWC will send by email the simulated tsunami products to officially designated TWFPs and NTWCs according to the chosen scenario. Each TWFP/ NTWC will decide if and how to disseminate the messages within their area of responsibility. In cases where a Member State does not inform the PTWC and CTWP, the organizers will decide on the scenario. The ICG/CARIBE-EWS of UNESCO/IOC, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Caribbean Regional Stakeholders (CEPREDENAC, CDEMA, and EMIZA) are providing the framework for this exercise as a means for emergency responders throughout the Caribbean and adjacent regions to test and update tsunami response plans. The participant handbook with details of the exercise should be available online by October 2018 at http://www.caribewave.info. Additional information relevant to the exercise will also be posted on this link in due course. For CARIBE WAVE 19, the CARIBE-EWS organization team has teamed up with TsunamiZone.org for an online registration at http://tsunamizone.org/caribbean. Under the ‘Caribbean Zone Region’ Tab, participants will be able to sign up as of January 2019, and receive a participation confirmation email. Emergency Management Organizations (EMOs) will have real-time access to the status of participants’ registration within their areas of responsibility. EMOs are encouraged to promote this registration system. During CARIBE WAVE 18, of the 643 403 total participants, over 380 000 used the TsunamiZone.org page to register. Online seminars for orienting participants on the exercise are offered in English, Spanish and French languages, and scheduled on 15–17 January and 12–14 February 2019. Registration to seminars is at http://www.caribewave.info.

no event notes available