First probabilistic map of tsunami hazards of seismic origin, created with a homogeneous approach in the region called "NEAM", which includes the North-East Atlantic, the Mediterranean and connected seas. To present it in Tunis, during two conferences (TSUMAPS-NEAM Project Final Meeting and IOC/UNESCO Information Workshop on NEAMTWS - Reducing Tsunami Risk through Early Warning System, Preparedness and Awareness), organized by the Tunisian Institut National de la Météorologie in collaboration with the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), el'Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, a delegation of researchers from INGV. The map, which shows the estimated long-term hazard of seismic tsunamis, represents one of the main results of the TSUMAPS-NEAM project (www.tsumaps-neam.eu), coordinated by INGV and co-financed by DG-ECHO (Directorate for the European Civil Protection and for operations for humanitarian interventions) of the European Union.
Objective: to refine natural risk assessment tools and encourage the adoption of a common tsunami risk management strategy in the region.
The implementation of early warning systems and how to improve the awareness and preparedness of populations exposed to tsunami risk were also discussed in Tunis. The INGV Tsunami Alert Center (CAT), recently accredited by UNESCO as a Tsunami Service Provider for the Mediterranean, was also presented on this occasion. An important acknowledgment of the ability to evaluate, in real time, the possibility that an earthquake could generate a tsunami and to estimate the heights and arrival times of the wave along the exposed coasts.
The IOC/UNESCO conference on NEAMTWS was an important moment of international discussion for the implementation of the recent Prime Minister's Directive which formally and operationally established the SiAM (National Alert System for Tsunamis Generated by Earthquakes in the Mediterranean Sea ), coordinated by the Civil Protection Department, of which the CAT is an essential element.
