200 - Typhoon Committee

ESCAP/WMO
Typhoon Committee Annual Review 2007
tsunamis; tropical cyclone plotting and speeddistance-time
computations; climate and climate
change, and the potential affects on Micronesia;
ENSO and its impacts and status, and rainfall,
tropical cyclone, and sea-level forecasts; the
Saffir-Simpson Tropical Cyclone Scale and
how the Scale was used to assess the winds
associated with Typhoon Chaba (August 2004);
and tropical cyclone decision making. The
Workshop is tailored for each of the locations
and is updated and improved annually. A
Certificate of Achievement was presented to all
that completed the course.
• Visits to College of Micronesia Campuses.
At the request of the U.S Ambassador to the
Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the WFO
Guam WCM makes annual presentations at the
campuses of the College of Micronesia. The
topic in 2006 was: “Typhoons on [Yap] [Chuuk]
[Pohnpei] [Kosrae]: Past, Present, and Future”.
The topic in 2007 is “Climate Variability and
Change: Implications for [Palau] [Yap]. Over 200
students, faculty and guests attended the four
presentations. Radio interviews (1.5 hr) were
also given on Yap and on Pohnpei.
• WMO Guangzhou. At the invitation of
the Chairman of the Chinese Academy of
Meteorological Sciences, the Guam WCM
attended the WMO Workshop on Tropical
Cyclone Disaster Reduction in Guangzhou,
China from 26-30 March 2007. The WCM joined
several esteemed lecturers from the US and Asia
to address methods and techniques that could
help reduce tropical cyclone-related disasters.
The WCM gave three very popular presentations
and provided numerous training materials to
the 52 participants from many Pacific and Indian
Ocean nations, and from as far away as Cuba.
• Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Meeting.
The Disaster Preparedness and Prevention (DPP)
working group of the Typhoon Committee held
its second meeting on 22-24 August 2007 in Seoul,
Korea. The WFO Guam WCM participated in
the meeting, where the purpose was to develop
the prototype Typhoon Committee Disaster
Information System (TCDIS). Once the WCM
returned Guam, he developed and provided the
needed input for the basic information system.
This information included the basic disaster
preparedness and prevention organizational
structures, programs, and methods of the
various island nations of Micronesia.
• StormReady and TsunamiReady designation
for Saipan. On 20 August 2007, Saipan joined
Guam as the second location in Micronesia
to be designated as both StormReady and
TsunamiReady. StormReady and TsunamiReady
are two prestigious NOAA programs that
recognize locations as being highly prepared
to respond to and recover from severe storms
and tsunamis. The Island of Saipan successfully
completed a comprehensive 1-year evaluation of
its programs and capabilities in order to earn this
distinction. WFO Guam, the Saipan Emergency
Management Office, the Saipan Mayor’s Office,
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands (CNMI) Red Cross Executive Director, and
the Coastal Resources Management Department
comprised the evaluation committee. Rota and
Tinian in the CNMI will be the next Micronesian
locations to work toward becoming StormReady
and TsunamiReady.
• ESCAP Integrated Workshop. MIC participated
in the Integrated Workshop on Social-Economic
Impacts of Extreme Typhoon-related Events
held 10-14 September at Bangkok Thailand. MIC
represented the USA in the Working Group
on Disaster Prevention and Preparedness. The
primary objectives of the workshop were to
exchange information on priorities and key
areas related to assessment and mitigation of
social-economic impacts of extreme typhoonrelated
disasters as part of the implementation
of the Strategic Plan of the Typhoon Committee
and to review progress in the working groups,
their achievements of priority projects, and
identifying priority needs of the Typhoon
Committee in promoting an integrated multihazard
early warning system.
• Participation in TOPOFF 4. The WFO Guam WCM
was part of the Guam Venue Core Planning team
for the nation’s largest anti-terrorism exercise.
The exercise occurred in October 2007, and
involved 15,000 participants in four different
US venues including Guam. The results of this
exercise will improve inter-agency coordination
at local, regional and national levels that will
further improve preparedness, response, and
recovery for all kinds of natural and man-made
disasters. This massive, extremely complex
exercise was two years in the planning.
d. Training Progress.
• Spotter training. The WCM provided spotter
training for the mayors of Guam and their
staffs, for several Ham Radio operators, and
for members of the Homeland Security/Office of
Civil Defense. The training included tsunamis,
tropical cyclones, lightning, waterspouts and
funnel clouds, hazardous surf, and volcanic ash/
haze. A total of 53 people attended the three
training sessions. In addition, the WCM provided
surf observation training to three observers in
the Marshall Islands, eight observers in the
CNMI and five observers on Guam during the
year.
e. Research Progress.
NTR
f. Other Cooperative/RCPIP Progress.
• Boating Safety/Fishing Derby. In August, WFO
Guam set up a display at the annual Boating
Safety and Fishing Derby. The display drew
about 150 visitors. A new brochure entitled:
Break the Grip of the Rip to Avoid the Grief
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