Aotearoa New Zealand's Tsunami Warning System: Considerations for Enhancing Hazard Communication and Response

新西兰奥蒂亚罗亚的海啸预警系统不同于其他高危国家的海啸预警系统，原因是危险监测、警报传播和疏散协调的独立结构。这一预警系统中的职责分工提供了一个独特的机会，可以调查如何决定、传达预警，以及如何调整教育计划，以提高认识和准备。本研究旨在加深对海啸预警系统流程和动态的了解，以提高海啸预警系统的有效性。本研究采用社会研究方法，收集了111份文件和档案，进行了57次半结构化访谈，并进行了13次公开的参与者观察。采访对象是新西兰奥蒂亚罗亚、澳大利亚、太平洋群岛、英国和美国的海啸研究人员、预警专家、应急管理人员和准备专家。与会者在新西兰奥蒂亚罗亚各地的机构会议、讲习班和活动期间进行了观察。从定性数据分析中得出了三个关键结论。首先，参与监测、传播和响应官方海啸警报的国家、地区和地方机构之间的责任分工可能会导致发布这些信息的错误和延误。其次，利用公民科学计划，将当地知识融入教育活动和紧急演习，可以使公众在观察到自然海啸警报信号后更有可能自我疏散。第三，通过多渠道使用技术和非技术方法进行海啸警报通信可以提高警报系统的有效性，强调这些系统不应仅依赖技术方法。这些发现表明，新西兰奥蒂亚罗亚将受益于建立一个联合海啸警报系统结构，以加强机构之间的决策和沟通，进一步利用公民科学计划来加强当地海啸抵御能力水平，并使用技术和非技术通信方法来克服对技术的日益依赖。

Aotearoa New Zealand's tsunami warning system differs to those of other at-risk countries' due to the separated structure of hazard monitoring, warning dissemination, and evacuation coordination. The divided responsibilities within this warning system provide a unique opportunity to investigate how warnings are decided upon, communicated, and how education schemes can be tailored to improve awareness and preparedness. This research aims to develop the understanding of tsunami warning system processes and dynamics to increase the effectiveness of these systems.Social research methods were used to collect 111 documents and archives, conduct 57 semi-structured interviews, and carry out 13 overt participant observations. The interviews were conducted with tsunami researchers, warning specialists, emergency managers, and preparedness experts in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, the Pacific Islands, the UK, and the USA. The participant observations were carried out during institutional meetings, workshops, and activities across Aotearoa New Zealand.Three key findings were established from the qualitative data analysis. First, the division of responsibilities between the national, regional, and local agencies involved in monitoring, disseminating, and responding to official tsunami warnings can lead to errors and delays in issuing this information. Second, the integration of local knowledge into education campaigns and emergency drills, using citizen science programmes, can make the public more likely to self-evacuate after observing natural tsunami warning signs. Third, the use of both technological and non-technological methods for tsunami warning communication through a multi-channel approach can improve the effectiveness of warning systems, emphasising that these systems should not rely solely on technological methods.These findings indicate that Aotearoa New Zealand would benefit from creating a joint tsunami warning system structure to enhance decision-making and communication between agencies, further utilising citizen science programmes to strengthen local tsunami resilience levels, and using both technological and non-technological communication methods to overcome the increasing reliance on technology.