The Seychelles Media Commission has joined the Disaster Risk Management Division (DRMD) and other stakeholders, to organise an Indian Ocean Wave Exercise in October of 2023 (IOWave23). The different stakeholders will be forming a local committee to plan and conduct the exercise.
Following consultations with key stakeholders, the Task Team IOWave23 have decided to conduct IOWave23 with two different exercises, scheduled for the 04th and 18th of October 2023.
The scenarios will allow individual Member States to decide the type and number of exercise scenarios to participate in.
Following discussions and past experiences, the SMC is moving forward, by extending the invitation to participate in the exercises to all local media houses, contrary to what has been happening in past exercises where focus was placed on the national broadcaster. This will allow all media houses the chance to test their capacity and acquire skills and identify gaps as part of disaster management and reporting.
IOC Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWMS) have to date organised six IOWave exercises (2009, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020). The exercises have been designed to test the receipt and dissemination of tsunami notifications along national tsunami warning chains, as well as test appropriate responses aligned with pre-established Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Throughout the IOWave Exercises, the engagement of coastal communities in tsunami education campaigns, preparedness measures, and evacuation.
The SMC looks forward to media houses' engagement in the forthcoming exercises.