International Tsunami Training Institute (ITTI)

Training is one of the most important tools used to build technical and institutional capacity for organizations and institutions. Substantial training has been conducted in the Indian Ocean region following the tsunami to train national and local counterparts in the operation and maintenance of forecasting and detection systems, development of procedures and policies to disseminate warning messages, and to educate communities on how to assess their resilience to natural hazards. While these training courses and workshops have had a tremendous impact in the region, repeated and institutionalized training is needed to truly build capacity over the long term. To help achieve this goal, representatives from the University of Washington (UW) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) created the International Tsunami Training Institute (ITTI) to serve as both a physical training center and to provide a virtual platform where participants can learn new skills and reinforce concepts that have been presented in earlier sessions. 

US IOTWS Contribution

This accredited training program was developed with support through the USAID-funded US Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System (IOTWS) Program with NOAA and is being offered jointly through UW and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). The ITTI is part of a broader U.S. government effort to support the development of a tsunami warning system under the US IOTWS Program, a two-year, $16.6 million effort. Through the program, scientists and experts from the United States are sharing their technical expertise, providing guidance, and helping to build multi-hazard warning system capacity within the Indian Ocean region. The goal is to enable governments and communities detect and prepare for tsunamis.

Through a combination of lectures, group exercises, simulations, and field visits, participants strengthened their understanding of forecasting and detection, hazard assessment, and community preparedness and response. Many of the products and training materials developed under the US IOTWS Program were used by the course instructors in the ITTI and have been archived in a web-based repository for future reference. Thirty-one participants from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, and the Maldives - the countries most affected by the December 2004 tsunami - took part in the August 2007 inaugural two-week training course in Seattle, Washington, marking the initial ITTI offering.

Next Steps

The University of Washington will continue to sponsor the ITTI and add training materials developed under the US IOTWS Program to its archives. UW and AIT will finalize a Memorandum of Understanding that outlines the general operating framework for the ITTI and the specific AIT roles and responsibilities. AIT will organize and conduct the next offering of the ITTI in Bangkok, Thailand, in early 2008 in conjunction with NOAA and UW.

For Further Information

David McKinnie, NOAA IOTWS Coordinator (david.mckinnie@noaa.gov)

John Stephens, Director of Academic Programs, University of Washington Educational Outreach (jstephens@extn.washington.edu)

University of Washington (http://www.outreach.washington.edu/ext/certificates/tsp/tsp_gen.asp)

Asian Institute of Technology (click here)