The New Tsunami Warning System of the Japan Meteorological Agency

Abstract

Since 1941, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has been involved in tsunami forecasting for Japan, which has frequently suffered from tsunami disasters. However, in the intervening years huge tsunami have occurred again (for example, the Japan Sea earthquake tsunami {1983,5,26 M=7.7}, and the Hokkaido Nanseioki Tsunami {1993, 7,12 M=7.8}),. and have taken many lives The experience with these tsunamis has fuels the Japanese desire to provide a more rapid and accurate tsunami forecast system in order to save lives.

The new Tsunami Warning System is made up of the following three components:

• 1. a new seismograph network using P-wave magnitudes,

• 2. rapid numerical tsunami model, and

• 3. a satellite-based dissemination system.

The new seismograph network and the satellite-based dissemination system have been completed. Rapid numerical tsunami model is nearing completion and will be operational in a few years.

In this paper, this new system and procedures are introduced. The paper will focus especially on the rapid numerical tsunami model in detail, because it will be one of the first applications of rapid numerical modeling to tsunami forecasting in the world.