Civil Protection Department

Stromboli: the workshop dedicated to the tsunami risk in the Mediterranean kicks off

From Wednesday 30 May to Saturday 2 June, the island of Stromboli hosts the "Tsunami emergency preparedness in Mediterranean coastal zones" workshop, organized by the Euro-Mediterranean Programme Pprd South, in collaboration with the IOC -Intergovernmental oceanographic commission of Unesco. The initiative aims at involving actively the representatives of countries, exposed to the tsnumai risk in the Mediterranean, in activities carried out by the Neamtws working group, to constitute an tsunami risk alert system for the North-East Atlantic, Mediterranean and surrounding seas. Among the participants, delegates of countries belonging to the Pprd South programme and experts of the Neamtws and Neamtic projects who represent every country of the Mediterranean. Members of IOC of Unesco, of the European Commission and of some research institututes of the Euro-Mediterranean region will also take part to the event.
Following the magnitude 5,8 earthquake that on 29 May hit again the province of Mantova and the foreshocks that affected the provinces of Reggio Emilia and Mantova, the number of Civil Protection Department's civil servants scheduled to take part to the workshop has been reduced.

Representatives of three Centres of Competence of the Civil Protection Department (Ingv, Ispra and University of Bologna), and of five regions mostly exposed to the tsunami risk (Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Puglia e Sicilia) and the Mayor of Lipari have also been invited to the workshop, that will be held on an island exposed to the tsnuami risk.

Workshop programme. After an introduction session on the tsnuami risk management at national, European and international level, on the agenda there are in-depth analyses on the phenomenon and on tsunami risk -  also regarding its social perception in the Mediterranean area -, and evaluations of the alert system structure. that is currently being set up in the North-East Atlantic  region and in the Mediterranean. In particular, one study session of the workshop is dedicated to Neamwave12, the first simulation exercise on tsunami risk that will be carried out to test, at the end of 2012, the progress report of Neamtws project. The workshop will be concluded with a visiti to the “Civil Protection Laboratory" at the Coa of Stromboli, where civil servants of the Civil Protection Department will explain how the Department works with the scientific community, the local authorities and citizens. Later on, a training session dedicated to information and awareness activities on tsunami risk will be held; it is part of the Neamtic project, that includes the creation of an information centre on the risk and on the alert system for the Mediterranean area.

Italy in the Neamtws project. Over the past few years, the Civil Protection Department has commenced, on the alert of tsunami risk, studies, collaborations and experience sharing with the scientific community at national, European and international level, as well as with the European Commission and Unesco. This project represent an important step as, although less frequent compared to the ones of the Pacific or Indian Oceans, tsunamis in the Mediterranean have caused, throughout centuries, huge damages and losses of human lives.

In particular, as part of the Neamtws project, the Department offered in 2009 to operate as a regional alert centre (Twp, Tsunami Watch Providers), along with Portugal, France, Greece and Turkey, to become a connection point in the alert system able to ensure dissemination of alert messages, not only towards the national alert chaing but also towards other Mediterranean countries. The proposal, that is under development, as an organization model, refers to the system currently operation on narional scale for the monitoring of phenomena of seaquake, i.e. the national alert system constitued by the network of functional centres.

The agreement with the Jrc institute of the European Commission. The Department operated also to reinforce further on the cooperation with the European Commission. A first step was taken last 12 April, with the signature of a collaboration agreement of the duration of 4 years with the Institute Jrc-Joint research centre of the European Commission, aimed at developing and implement the pre-alert system in case of tsunamis in the Mediterranean. Among the objectives of the agreement, the sharing of data and expertise already available, along with the ones that will be progressively be acquired during the studies.

To know more: Tsunami Dossier. In occasion of the workshop, we launch again the Tsunami risk dossier, that frames the tsunami phenomenon in the Mediterranean and in Italy, and recalls the events that, throughout history, have affected our country, and presents the monitoring and alert system active on the national territory, by anticipating future developments, also regarding the Neamtws alert network.
To test your knowledge on this theme, the "Tsunami risk and prevention: are you in the field, on the sidelines or on the stands? is available on our website.