Indian Ocean Tsunami Early Warning System

In response to the December 2004 tsunami disaster, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funded a two-year program (ended September 2007) to provide technical assistance to support an Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System (IOTWS) for tsunamis and related coastal hazards. The CRC is part of a consortium of US Government agencies for the US-IOTWS program, under the coordination of Tetra Tech and the International Resource Group. The overall goal of the program is to create a unified “end-to-end” early warning system, which provides information at all stages of an impending hazard from an ocean buoy to a community at risk. The approach is multi-hazard and simultaneously addresses tsunamis and a number of other critical coastal threats such as cyclones, sea swells, floods, and earthquakes. The US-IOTWS program also includes targeted technical support to promote coastal community resilience in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and the Maldives — the five countries most affected by the December 2004 tsunami.