Wet and Dry Tsunami Warning Systems: Lessons from High Reliability Organizations

Grabowski Martha
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Grabowski Martha: LeMoyne College & Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 2010, vol. 7, issue 1, 25

Abstract: Tsunami warning systems (TWS) are global systems designed to monitor seismological and tidal stations, to evaluate earthquakes with tsunami potential, and to disseminate tsunami warning information. In the wake of the spate of recent tsunami-related events, and consequent loss of lives, and economic and environmental damage, we consider lessons learned from other large-scale safety-critical systems where failure is not an option. We begin by describing the technical (dry), social, organizational and cultural (wet) elements of today's tsunami warning systems. We then consider the nature of high reliability organizations, and their characteristics en route to identifying lessons learned from these systems that offer new insights about the design, operation, structure and performance of next generation tsunami warning systems. We conclude with an agenda for future work and concepts for follow-on research.

Keywords: tsunami; warning; sociotechnical systems; communications; decision-making; safety-critical systems; trust; organizational culture; organizational structure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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DOI: 10.2202/1547-7355.1694

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