Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Pacific Tsunami Warning System (ICG/PTWS)

Under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System first convened in 1968 (ICG/PTWS, formerly known as ICG/ITSU for International Tsunami).  An international cooperative effort involving many Member States of the Pacific Region, ICG/PTWS meets regularly to review progress and coordinate activities resulting in improvements of the service. Present members are:

Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, France, Guatemala, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niue, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Republic of the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Samoa, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu (provisional), United States of America and Vietnam.

The IOC maintains the International Tsunami Information Centre (ITIC). Established in 1965 and staffed by the U.S.A., Chile, and Japan, the ITIC works closely with NOAA’s Richard H. Hagemeyer Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC), and other international tsunami centres such as Japan's Northwest Pacific Tsunami Advisory Center (NWPTAC) and NOAA's West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WC/ATWC).

ITIC's primary responsibilities also include:

• monitoring the international tsunami warning activities in the Pacific and other oceans and recommending improvements in communications, data networks, acquisition and processing, tsunami forecasting methods, and information dissemination;
  
  
• bringing to Member and non-member States information on tsunami warning systems, on the affairs of IOC and ITIC, and on how to become participants in the global TWS;
  
  
• assisting Member States in the establishment of national and regional warning systems, and the reduction of tsunami risk through comprehensive mitigation programmes;
  
  
• acting as a clearinghouse for the development of educational and preparedness materials, event data collection, and the fostering research and its application to prevent loss of life;

The PTWC serves as the operational warning headquarters for the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System. PTWC works closely with other international, sub-regional and national centers in monitoring seismic and sea level stations around the Pacific Ocean for large earthquakes and tsunami waves. The PTWS makes use of more than 150 high-quality seismic stations around the world to locate potentially tsunamigenic earthquakes, and accesses nearly 100 sea level stations globally to verify the generation and evaluate the severity of a tsunami. The system disseminates tsunami information and warning messages to designated national authorities in over 100 locations across the Pacific. Sub-regional centres such as the WC/ATWC and NWPTAC provide regional alerts to the U.S.A. west coast, Alaska and Canada, and the northwest Pacific and South China Sea regions, respectively.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System is one of the most successful international scientific programmes with the direct humanitarian aim of mitigating the effects of tsunami to save lives and property.