India, along with several other Indian Ocean nations, will participate in a major tsunami mock exercise —IOWave25 — on October 15, 11.30 a.m. and another on November 5, 8.30 a.m. The first one will simulate magnitude 9.0 earthquake in the Makran Trench (off the Pakistan coast), affecting India’s west coast and Lakshadweep Islands.
The second will simulate magnitude 9.2 earthquake in the Sumatra Trench (off Northern Sumatra, Indonesia), impacting the east coast of India and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Each exercise will run in real-time for 12 hours, during which ITEWC (Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre) will issue 15 test bulletins. Measures will be taken to ensure the public is not inadvertently alarmed.
The drill is being organized by the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWMS) under UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).
The exercise aims to enhance tsunami preparedness, assess response capabilities across participating nations, and strengthen regional coordination. It will test the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of emergency services and evaluate their readiness to respond to tsunami-like emergencies.
