Warning and forecasting of Tsunami

Warning and forecasting of Tsunami

The Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has the mandate for detecting tsunamigenic earthquakes occurring in the Indian Ocean as well as in the global oceans within ten minutes of occurrence of the earthquake and disseminating the tsunami related advisories to the concerned authorities through email, fax, GTS and website. The India Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) established at INCOIS has the latest scientific  techniques to provide early warnings  for an impending tsunami to all countries in the Indian ocean region. Indian Tsunami Early Warning System comprises of a real-time seismic monitoring network of broadband seismic stations. INCOIS also has a real-time sea-level network with seven tsunami buoys in the open ocean and 35 tide gauges at different locations on the coast to monitor the tsunami waves. In addition, INCOIS also takes the help of numerical model to assess the tsunami potential at different locations on the coast. ITEWC is also receiving data in real time from 350 seismic stations, 50 tsunami buoys and 300 tidal gauges established in the Indian as well as the other oceans by other countries and international agencies. The operational forecasting of tropical cyclones is the mandate of the IMD. Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO has designated ITEWC as the Tsunami Service Provider (TSP) for the entire Indian Ocean Region. Since 2012, ITEWC is providing tsunami advisories and related services to about 25 countries.
A High Performance Computer (HPC) system named 'Mihir' was inaugurated at the NCMRWF. This facility will greatly improve India's capacity in weather forecasting. It is India's largest HPC facility in terms of peak capacity and performance. Mihir's resources can be used by weather and climate community to provide tsunami forecasts with greater lead time.