The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) of the Disaster Risk Management Division (DRMD) and national key stakeholders participated in the 15th edition of the regional Indian Ocean Waver Exercise (IOWAVE) 2025 on Wednesday 5th November 2025, held at the Seychelles National Museum.
The IOWAVE exercise is a biennial regional simulation designed to test the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of disaster management agencies, first responders and other critical stakeholders across the Indian Ocean region in the event of a tsunami.
Internationally, IOWAVE is coordinated and organised by the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System (ICG/IOTWMS) under the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO.
In Seychelles, the exercise is biennially overseen by the Preparedness and Planning (PP) unit of the DRMD. Building on recommendations from previous exercises, for IOWAVE2025 a paperless approach was introduced where participants utilised laptops and an isolated network sharing system for inter-agency communication and coordination during the exercise, enhancing information flow throughout the simulation.
Participating local stakeholders included the IOWAVE2025 were Seychelles, Fire and Rescue Service Agency (SFRSA), Island Development Company (IDC), Health Care Agency (HCA), the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs (MLGCA), Seychelles Broadcasting Cooperation (SBC), Department of Tourism, Ministry of Education (MOE), the Seychelles Police Force (SPF), Seychelles Meteorological Authority (SMA).
