Tsunami exercises in the NEAM region

The first tsunami warning and communication exercise for the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and Connected Seas Region (NEAMWave 12) was conducted on 27 and 28 November 2012.

During the Tenth session of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System in the North Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Connected Seas (ICG/NEAMTWS-X/3s) held from 19 to 21 November 2013 in Rome, Italy, and following the success of the first tsunami exercise, it was decided to conduct a second exercise called NEAMWave 14 in the fourth quarter of 2014 to test the readiness of the system, to maximize the participation of the Member States to the exercise and particularly to improve the participation of the respective Civil Protection Agencies (CPA).

At the thirteenth session of the (ICG/NEAMTWS-XIII) which took place on 26-28 September 2016 in Bucharest, Romania, it was decided to conduct in the fourth quarter of 2017, a third exercise called NEAMWave 17. The latest exercise, NEAMWave21, was first scheduled to be conducted in the fourth quarter of 2020, but in the light of the COVID-19 Pandemic outbreak, the ICG/NEAMTWS Steering Committee, during a dedicated NEAMWave meeting in June 2020, decided not to conduct the exercise in November 2020, but to postpone until spring 2021. NEAMWave21 was conducted from 8-10 March 2021.

Past NEAMWAVE Exercises

• NEAMWAVE 12: A tsunami warning and communication exercise for the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and Connected Seas Region, volume I: exercise manual, volume II: evaluation  report. IOC. Technical series; 103 (IOC/2012/TS/103 VOL.1 + VOL.2)
• NEAMWAVE 14: A tsunami warning and communication exercise for the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and Connected Seas Region, 28-30 October 2014, volume I: manual. IOC.  Technical series; 114 (IOC/2014/TS/114VOL.1)
• NEAMWAVE 17: Tsunami Warning and Communication Exercise for the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and Connected Seas Region, 31 October – 3 November 2017, Volume 1: Exercise  Instructions. IOC. Technical series; 134 (IOC/2017/TS/134 Vol.1 Rev.)
• NEAMWAVE 21: A Tsunami Warning and Communication Exercise for the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and Connected Seas Region, 8-10 March 2021, Volume I: Exercise Manual. IOC.  Technical series; 164 (IOC/2021/TS/164/ VOL.1)