These services are developed in close collaboration with national seismological, oceanographic, and disaster management agencies.

RIMES was established on the premise that regional cooperation is the only effective defense against oceanogenic disasters. Our Earthquake and Tsunami Services department operates around the clock to monitor seismic activity and sea-level anomalies across the Indian Ocean and beyond.

Our organization plays a pivotal role in developing and operating regional tsunami early warning systems. We offer real-time monitoring, comprehensive risk assessment, and timely warnings to vulnerable communities. By bridging the gap between global seismic data and local safety, we ensure that member states have the intelligence required to protect lives during transboundary oceanogenic hazards.

Our Objectives

• Operational Excellence: To maintain 24/7 real-time monitoring of seismic and sea-level activity.
• End-to-End Support: To provide a complete service chain, from hardware installation to risk assessment and community evacuation drills.
• Actionable Intelligence: To deliver tiered information products from initial earthquake parameters to tsunami generation potential and estimated arrival times, that drive rapid decision-making.

Core Services & Capabilities

1. Enhancing Data Availability: Accurate warnings begin with robust detection. RIMES supports the deployment and maintenance of critical observation infrastructure.

• Seismic Network Expansion: We deploy and manage Broadband Seismometers and Strong Motion Accelerometers to capture precise ground motion data.
• Geodetic Monitoring: Utilization of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) for monitoring ground deformation.

2. Modeling and Forecasting We operate a 24/7 operational center dedicated to hazard and impact modeling.

• Tsunami Modeling: Real-time simulation of wave propagation and coastal impact.
• Tsunami Loss Estimation: We go beyond wave height to estimate specific impacts, including Population Exposure, and Building Damage.
• Evacuation Mapping: Developing optimal evacuation routes and analyzing shelter capacity to ensure safe retreat.

3. Tsunami Information Products We structure our deliverables into three specific service levels (SL) to guide decision-makers through the timeline of an event:

• SL 1: Earthquake Information: Immediate parameters (location, magnitude, depth).
• SL 2: Tsunami Forecast: Estimated arrival times and wave heights.
• SL 3: Tsunami Inundation Risk: Detailed scenarios of coastal flooding.
• Static Products: We also produce comprehensive Tsunami Hazard & Risk Assessment Maps and Tsunami Evacuation Maps for long-term planning.

4. Tsunami Preparedness & Response Technology is useless without a prepared community. RIMES has trained >100 staff across the region in critical preparedness skills:

• Low-cost topographic surveys.
• DEM (Digital Elevation Model) and data processing.
• Tsunami risk assessment methodologies.
• Evacuation mapping and route planning.
• Conducting local-level tsunami drills to test readiness.

Operational Notification Protocols

RIMES employs a multi-channel dissemination system to ensure warnings reach authorities instantly.

Automatic Notifications

• Email Notification: Automatic distribution of earthquake solutions.
• SMS Notification: Instant text alerts containing preliminary earthquake data.

Official Bulletins (Issued for POTENTIALLY TSUNAMIGENIC events) When an event poses a potential risk, we issue formal bulletins in a structured sequence: