Tsunami Emergency Planning Handbook for Australian Coastal and Maritime Communities

A 2018 handbook published by the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience and the Australian Tsunami Advisory Group provides national guidance for tsunami emergency planning. The document outlines tsunami causes, characteristics, and the Australian Tsunami Warning System, replacing a 2010 predecessor. It was released on 5 November 2018 to coincide with United Nations World Tsunami Awareness Day.

Use Cases

• Developing local emergency response plans based on the 'Marine Threat' and 'Land Inundation Threat' warning framework categories.
• Educating maritime communities (fishers, boaters, tourism operators) on tsunami preparedness using the handbook's accessible language.
• Informing infrastructure and land-use policy in coastal zones using the referenced 2018 national tsunami hazard modelling guidelines.
• Training emergency services personnel on the processes and warning types of the Australian Tsunami Warning System.

Strengths

• Authored by the national leading group for tsunami capability development (ATAG) in partnership with AIDR.
• Replaces and updates a 2010 national manual, reflecting more current guidance.
• Published on a specific date (5 November 2018) aligning with a UN awareness day.

Limitations

• The primary data file is a PDF document; structured, machine-readable data is not provided.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for quantitative analysis.

Provenance

Source

Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR) and Australian Tsunami Advisory Group (ATAG).

Collection Method

Handbook development through a review and refresh of national guidance.

Time Range

Published 2018, referencing a 2017 risk study and historical/prehistorical records.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 13:39:28.935762; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australia, with focus on coastal and maritime communities.