Tsunami hazard, warning, and risk reduction in Italy and the Mediterranean Sea: state of the art, gaps, and future solutions

Authors: STEFANO LORITO, ALESSANDRO AMATO, LORENZO CUGLIARI, FABRIZIO ROMANO, ROBERTO TONINI, CECILIA VALBONESI, MANUELA VOLPE

Abstract: Historical catalogues show evidence for about 300 tsunamis in European coastal waters since 1600 BC, and tsunami hazard models like the NEAMTHM18 provide the probability of future inundation from earthquake-induced tsunamis. A recent wake-up call came from the 2020 M_w7.0 Samos-İzmir earthquake and the following moderate, damaging tsunami. Five accredited Tsunami Service Providers (TSPs) run by IPMA (Portugal), CENALT (France), INGV (Italy), NOA (Greece), and KOERI (Turkey), and several national centers monitor the seismicity and provide tsunami alerts in the framework of the UNESCO Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System in the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and connected seas (NEAMTWS). In this paper, we focus on the state of the art of earthquake-induced tsunami risk reduction and coastal planning in Italy from the perspective of the Centro Allerta Tsunami (CAT), the INGV NTWC (National Tsunami Warning Center) and TSP. We will emphasize some limitations to draw future directions for better preparation and towards the full implementation of the tsunami warning "last-mile".

Keywords: Tsunami, earthquakes, Mediterranean Sea, hazard, early warning, coastal planning, Italy

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