5 November marks World Tsunami Awareness Day, and the of the Department of Geosciences has been working towards the recognition of Marsaxlokk as the first tsunami-ready community in Malta through the IOC-UNESCO-led CoastWAVE project.
The CoastWAVE project aims to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable coastal communities in the North-Eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Connected Seas (NEAM region) to tsunamis and other sea level-related hazards.
Tsunamis are most commonly generated due to strong seismic activity, although underwater landslides, underwater volcanoes, and meteorites are also potential sources of these hazards. The location of Malta in the central Mediterranean Sea is critical. Although it is exposed to a number of regional and far-field-originating marine hazards, its central position and distance from strong seismic sources provide a somewhat longer timeframe for decision-making and action planning.
Geomorphologically, the west coast of Malta is mainly shaped with high cliffs that serve as protection in the event of such phenomena, whereas low-lying coasts are more commonly found on the east coast. Earthquake-generated tsunamis have been recorded in Malta, with the 1693 Eastern Sicily (Mw 7.4) and the 1908 Messina earthquake (Mw 7.2) being the most relevant. In the latter, waves reached the Maltese coasts, flooding the areas of Msida and Marsaxlokk, while abnormally high sea levels were recorded in the Grand Harbour. For this reason, as well as having already taken part in the Tsunami Last Mile project in 2021, Marsaxlokk was chosen to be the first Maltese community to undergo the Tsunami-Ready Recognised program.
To strengthen the resilience of the community towards tsunamis, Marsaxlokk will participate in the international NEAMWAVE23 exercise on November 7. The exercise, which will involve a number of countries in the Mediterranean, and is coordinated by IOC-UNESCO, is designed to evaluate the national and local warning dissemination and response mechanisms upon receipt of a tsunami warning message from the regional Tsunami Service Providers.
The exercise is coordinated by the Civil Protection Department alongside the University of Malta. It will simulate the occurrence of a tsunami generated by a large earthquake in the eastern Mediterranean, and will also involve the evacuation a group of schoolchildren from the shore. It is expected that the experience gained will benefit other coastal communities in the Maltese islands.
Public awareness and preparedness is crucial towards mitigating the effects of marine hazards that impact the Maltese coasts. The SMRG has been doing a series of awareness activities with the local population and schoolchildren of Marsaxlokk since the beginning of the project. The most recent one took place on 1 November, when an information session was held during a social activity in the Marsaxlokk Parish Hall.
