IHCantabria participated in the launching meeting of the UNESCO-IOC EU DG ECHO CoastWAVE 2.0 project in Cadiz.

The previous week, the city of Cadiz hosted thekick-off meeting of the UNESCO-IOC EU DG ECHO CoastWAVE 2.0 project, which marks the beginning of its implementation in Spain. Research staff from the Institute of Environmental Hydraulics of the University of Cantabria(IHCantabria) participated in this event, in collaboration with the Civil Protection Area of the City of Cadiz.

This was the first internal meeting of the project, which was of an institutional and technical nature; it was structured in two parts. In the first part, the actors involved in the development of the project at municipal, regional and national level were presented, in addition to addressing the context in which the CoastWAVE 2 project is framed and the activities planned in the municipality of Cadiz. The second part had a more participatory character, as it promoted an open and joint debate on the implementation of the 12 indicators of the UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready program in Cadiz, in order to address some challenges and opportunities.

The coordination of this project in Spain and in IHCantabria is in charge of Ignacio Aguirre Ayerbe, who participated in the launching meeting on behalf of IHCantabria, together with Mauricio González Rodríguez and María Merino González-Pardo. During his speech, Aguirre presented the project and framed it within the Tsunami Early Warning System of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Northeast Atlantic, Mediterranean and Connected Seas (ICG-NEAMTWS). He also stressed the importance of the UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready Reconnaissance Program.

Participation of local, national and international representatives

The opening remarks, including thanks to IHCantabria, were given by the Third Deputy Mayor of the City of Cadiz, Juan José Ortiz, who is coordinator of the Citizenship Area and participated in this event on behalf of the Mayor of his City Council, Bruno García de León.

Both the subdelegate of the Government of Andalusia in Campo de Gibraltar, Javier Ros, and the coordinator of Civil Protection of the City of Cadiz, José Manuel Calvo Hurtado, highlighted the work developed so far in that region and the technical advice of IHCantabria, in terms of risk to tsunamis. For his part, the technical secretary of the ICG-NEAMTWS, Denis Chang Seng, congratulated the institutions of Spain, Andalusia, Cadiz, Chipiona, and IHCantabria, for the efforts being made in recent years in this area to promote better preparedness for potential tsunami events.

This event was also attended by Patricio Poullet Brea, head of the Andalusia-Atlantic Coastal Demarcation, Juan Vicente Cantavella, director of the National Seismic Network, and several representatives of the Directorate General of Emergencies and Civil Protection of the Junta de Andalucía (headed by the head of the Civil Protection Service, María Dolores Jiménez Navarro). In addition, several key players in the management of tsunami risk in Cadiz attended, among whom were members of the Port Authority of the Bay of Cadiz, the service of Aguas de Cadiz, Electrica de Cadiz, 112, the Consortium of Firefighters of the Province of Cadiz, the National Police of Cadiz, the Command of the Civil Guard of Cadiz and the Civil Protection.

General Action Protocol for Tsunami Risk Assessment

The participation of IHCantabria in this project is part of an agreement with the City Council of Cadiz, which in January signed a General Protocol of action for the evaluation of tsunami risk in the city, in collaboration with the Foundation Institute of Environmental Hydraulics of Cantabria (FIHAC).

The CoastWAVE 2.0 project is an initiative funded by the European Union’s Directorate General for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), which aims to strengthen the resilience of coastal communities in the NEAM region to tsunamis and other risks related to sea level variations. Seven countries are participating in this new phase: Spain, Morocco, Portugal, France, Italy, Egypt and Turkey, each with a pilot community. In Spain, Cadiz has been selected as a pilot municipality due to its complex urban configuration and the high number of inhabitants exposed to tsunami risk.

IHCantabria, which coordinated the first edition of the project, will again lead its implementation in Spain, in collaboration with the General Directorate of Civil Protection and Emergencies (DGPCE) and the National Tsunami Warning Center (National Seismic Network of the IGN), the main actors in tsunami risk management at the national level.