Exercise Pacific Wave 22 - Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICT)

 

 
Pacific Island Countries and
Territories Regional Exercise
(PacWave22-PICT)

9 Nov 2022 2300 UTC
to 10 Nov 2022 0100 UTC
UNESCO News Release

PacWave22-PICT Timeline and Milestones
Date	Activity
2 November 2022, 2300 UTC	Webinar - Meeting site, video recording
7 November 2022    8 November 2022 (final incl HF freq)	Exercise Manual incl MSEL (final incl HF freq, 8 Nov)   PTWC msgs (all msgs, 7 Nov, ZIP) PW22-PICT_message01.txt (TXT1) PW22-PICT_message02.txt (TXT2) PW22-PICT_message03.txt (TXT3) PW22-PICT_message04.txt (TXT4) PW22-PICT_message05.txt (TXT5) PW22-PICT_message06.txt (TXT6) PW22-PICT_message07.txt (TXT7) PW22-PICT_message08.txt (TXT8) PW22-PICT_message09.txt (TXT9)
8 November 2022 2300 UTC	Communication Test (Email Listserv, WhatsApp, HF Radio) - please acknowledge receipt and time of receipt (UTC, date, name of person)
2300 UTC 9 Nov to 0100 UTC 10 Nov 2022	PacWave22-PICT Regional Exercise
10 November 2022  NEW	UNESCO News Release
16 November 2022, 2300 UTC (2 hours)  NEW	Cold Wash - Regional Exercise Debrief - Meeting site, video recording
21 December 2022  NEW	Deadline to complete and submit PacWave22-PICT Regional Post-Exercise Evaluation Form  (Online).

On 25 July 2022, the Chair of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group (ICG) for the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (PTWS) approved the “Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai type” Volcanic Tsunami Hazard Response: Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) Interim Procedures and PTWS Products User’s Guide following the review conducted by the ICG/PTWS Steering Committee.

The ICG/PTWS Steering Committee also recommended PTWC to collaborate with WG-PICT through Exercise Pacific Wave 2022 to test the “Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai type” Volcanic Tsunami Hazard Response: PTWC Interim Procedures and PTWS Products User’s Guide.

The massive explosion on the volcanic island of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai (HTHH), about 30 km (19 mi) south-southeast of Fonuafoʻou island in Tonga, on 15 January 2022 at about 4:14 UTC, generated a tsunami that caused damages locally, regionally, and across the Pacific. 

This was the first time that the PTWC had to respond to such an event, since its system is primarily focused on earthquake-generated tsunamis representing nearly 90% of the past cases of tsunami in the world. 

The PacWave22-PICT Regional Exercise aims to;

1. Test the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai (HTHH) PTWC Interim Procedures and PTWS Products (IOC Circular Letter 2902) and whether the HTHH PTWS products are interpreted PICT Member States accurately and in a timely manner, and

2. Test regional communication and cooperation between PICT Member States, and the value of information sharing in facilitating national tsunami alert decision-making.

The PacWave22-PICT will consist of a 2-hour real-time table top exercise starting at 2300 UTC on 9 November 2022 (Access to your timezone). The exercise scenario will replay the HTHH tsunami sequence that occurred on 15th January 2022 with PTWC-simulated products. During the exercise, PICT national stakeholders (National Tsunami Warning Centres and National Disaster Management Offices) will share event information through multiple informal communications modes, including by WhatsApp, mailing list, and/or HF Radio.

To enable this regional exercise, PTWC will provide participating Member States with PacWave22-PICT Regional Exercise messages. These messages provide information that can assist countries in their tsunami hazard assessment, tsunami response planning, and warning decision-making.  

WG-PICT Member State exercises are also encouraged to consider: 

• Conducting exercises based on limitations derived from the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the absence of a warning centre duty officer(s), the requirement for virtual exercises, and/or evacuations/sheltering considering physical distancing practices of a pandemic.

• Testing the capability to carry out their national warning and response responsibilities.
• Conducting the exercise down to the community level, including where possible, an extensive public awareness campaign.
  

The ITIC and IOC will host PacWave22-PICT Regional Exercise - Cold Wash and Debrief on 16 November 2022, at 2300 UTC.  Country Players, and Exercise Observers and Controllers are invited to participate to provide their experiences and feedback.  Information on the webinar, including agenda and documents, can be on this meeting website.

Exercise Documents
Document	Format/Size
UNESCO News Release, 10 November 2022  NEW	(website link)
IOC Circular Letter 2908, Pacific Island Countries and Territories Regional Exercise during Pacific Wave Exercise 2022 (PacWave22-PICT) on 9 November 2022, 27 Sep 2022	(PDF, 198 KB)
Exercise Registration	(Online) PDF, 165 KB
Exercise Manual for PacWave22-PICT Regional Exercise (final incl all HF freq, issued 8 Nov 2022)	(PDF final, 4.3 MB)
Master Schedule of Events List (MSEL) - PacWave22-PICT Regional Exercise -  (MSEL)	inside Exercise Manual
PTWC Messages (version 2, 7 Nov 2022) - PacWave22-PICT Regional Exercise  PTWC msgs (all msgs ZIP) PW22-PICT_message01.txt (TXT1) PW22-PICT_message02.txt (TXT2) PW22-PICT_message03.txt (TXT3) PW22-PICT_message04.txt (TXT4) PW22-PICT_message05.txt (TXT5) PW22-PICT_message06.txt (TXT6) PW22-PICT_message07.txt (TXT7) PW22-PICT_message08.txt (TXT8) PW22-PICT_message09.txt (TXT9)	(all msgs, ZIP, 48 KB (TXT1) (TXT2) (TXT3) (TXT4) (TXT5) (TXT6) (TXT7) (TXT8) (TXT9)
HTHH Tsunami Travel Time Map Local 2h, IOC/DART stations Regional 6h, IOC stations Regional 6h, DART stations HTHH Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) IOC stations DART stations HTHH Observations - IOC Sea Level Network Data Marigrams IOC (Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission: Sea level station monitoring facility). DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis).	(PNG, 766 KB) (PNG, 759 KB) (PNG, 748 KB) (TXT, 6 KB) (TXT, 1 KB) (ZIP, 1.6 MB) (ZIP, 13.3 MB)
Post-Exercise Evaluation Form - PacWave22-PICT Regional Exercise.   NEW	(Online)
Country Photos/Videos - injects and activities  NEW Fiji France - New Caledonia France - Tahiti France - Wallis & Futuna Nauru Samoa Tonga HF Radio Comms Test - Fiji, New Caledonia, Nauru, Tonga	(ZIP, 32 MB) (ZIP, 6 MB) (ZIP, 4 MB) (ZIP, 6 MB) (ZIP, 60 MB) (ZIP, 4 MB) (ZIP, 52 MB) (ZIP, 51 MB)

Exercise Planning and Resource Documents
Document	Format/Size
Information web site, PTWC Interim Procedures and PTWS Products for Tsunamis from the Hunga Tonga – Hunga Ha‘apai Volcano	website
User's Guide, PTWC Interim Procedures and PTWS Products for Tsunamis from the Hunga Tonga – Hunga Ha‘apai Volcano (v1.3, 25 July 2022), IOC CL 2902, 17 Aug 2022	(PDF, User's Guide) (PDF, CL 2902)
How to Plan, Conduct, and Evaluate Tsunami Exercises  IOC Manual and Guides 58, 2013 English Spanish Summary Powerpoint (Oct 2011)	(PDF, 1.3 MB) (PDF, 1.1 MB) (PPT, 3.0 MB)
Plans and Procedures for Tsunami Warning and Emergency Management (IOC Manual and Guides 76 rev., 2017, English)	(PDF, 3 MB)
Preparing for Community Tsunami Evacuations:  from inundation to evacuation maps, response planning, and exercises, Guide and Supplements (IOC Manual and Guides 82, 2020, English, Spanish)	web site