HYDERABAD, NOVEMBER 12, 2025: Tsunamis arise from diverse sources, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, atmospheric-pressure disturbances (meteotsunamis), and even meteorite impacts, so the science is inherently interdisciplinary, spanning seismology, volcanology, marine geology and geophysics, hydrodynamics, and ocean-atmosphere interactions.
The International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) Tsunami Commission (IUGG/TC), also called Joint Tsunami Commission, is an Inter-Association Commission, jointly sponsored by IASPEI, IAPSO and IAVCEI, responsible for the international coordination of tsunami-related meetings, research, and publications. The Joint Tsunami Commission holds the International Tsunami Symposium (ITS) every two years, where tsunami researchers and disaster prevention personnel from all over the world gather to discuss a wide range of topics such as tsunami warning, damage prediction, tsunami evacuation, and tsunami disaster prevention education etc.
This year, the 32nd International Tsunami Symposium (ITS) is being organised during November 12 – 14, 2025, at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad, India. The primary goal of this symposium is to develop and implement a robust program that upholds professional excellence among participants specialising in diverse, dynamic fields such as tsunami hazard assessment, detection, monitoring, early warning systems, mitigation strategies and community preparedness. More than 80 delegates, including 90% of foreign delegates from all over the globe, have participated in this symposium and engaged in peer-reviewed and technical sessions designed to explore and address the latest advancements and developments within these crucial areas.
Dr T. M. Balakrishnan Nair, Director, INCOIS, welcomed all the delegates and gave his welcome address and briefed the significant deliberations made during the First Conference of Ocean Decade Tsunami Programme (ODTP) held at INCOIS just before ITS 2025, on November 10-11, 2025, which was organised jointly by INCOIS and IOC-UNESCO. This first ODTP Conference provided a pivotal platform to unite Tsunami Early Warning Systems (TEWS) and coastal resilience communities under the umbrella of Ocean Decade Challenge 6 and the Ocean Decade Tsunami Programme (ODTP). With a focus on coastal hazards—especially tsunamis—the Conference aimed at (i) Strengthening collaboration and networking among diverse stakeholders, (ii) Co-design strategic pathways for enhanced resilience and disaster risk reduction, and (iii) Accelerating action and impact under the ODTP framework.
Dr. Shailesh Nayak, Director, National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) and Former Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has graced the occasion as Chief Guest and also delivered a plenary talk on Tsunami Early Warning: Challenges, Lessons and the Way Forward where he recollected the challenges and timelines involved in setting up of Tsunami Early Warning System by India, science and technology advancements over the past two decades, gaps to be addressed and focus to be made for resilient coasts. The Guests of Honour, Prof Yuichiro Tanioka, Hokkaido University, Japan and Prof.Viacheslav K. Gusiakov, Institute of Computational Mathematics and Mathematical Geophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia, have addressed the gathering and shared the history of the ITS 2025 symposium and its significance.
The Scientist and experts at ITS Symposium 2025 will continue their deliberations and discussions focussing various theme that includes Tsunami Modelling for seismic and non-seismic sources, Instrumentation and Observation network, Meteotsunamis including 2022 Tonga event, Kamchatka Tsunami and South Alaska Landslide Tsunami, Advanced Techniques in real time inundation modelling, use of high-performance computing, AI/ML, etc., Societal Dimensions of Tsunami Risk, Tsunami Awareness and Preparedness, Tsunami Hazard, vulnerability and risk assessment, International cooperation and Prive partnerships and many more.
The event is being organised jointly by INCOIS and IUGG. Many Industry partners have set up the exhibitions and sponsored the events.
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