Pacific Exercises

Most of the world’s earthquakes and tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean and its marginal seas, and over history, 76% of the world’s fatal tsunamis have occurred there. On average, the Pacific is struck by a locally damaging tsunami every one to two years.  Since 2005, there have been 18 deadly tsunamis and 11 of them have occurred in the Pacific, Local and regional tsunamis occur most frequently, and in the Pacific over history, have been the cause of 99% of tsunami casualties as they will impact shorelines in minutes.

A Pacific-wide tsunami exercise is an effective tool for evaluating the readiness of the PTWS and to identify changes that can improve its effectiveness. The first Pacific-wide exercise, “Exercise Pacific Wave 06” (IOC/INF-1244), was carried out on 16 and 17 May 2006 using Philippines and Chile tsunami sources. Subsequent exercises were conducted in 2008, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2018.

Exercise Pacific Wave video (Click to go to Vimeo to download video)