Objective

This workshop follows a very successful 1997 Caribbean Tsunami Workshop, which was sponsored by the University of Puerto Rico Sea Grant Program. The 1997 workshop led to an increase in awareness and research funding for this latent hazard, but mainly in the island of Puerto Rico and, mostly, for earthquake tsunamis. Seven years later, it is the main objective of this workshop to inform the international tsunami community of this hazard in the Caribbean Sea and the diversity of tsunami generating sources in the region. At the same time, we hope this workshop will serve as a motivation for the tsunami modeling community to apply their skill and knowledge in addressing the multiple regional tsunami threat which, in combination with the huge increase in coastal development, presents a very worrisome scenario. We aim to bring into the limelight this threat so that more islands in the Caribbean (besides Puerto Rico) will become involved in tsunami hazard and mitigation. The fact that the last destructive tsunami occurred in 1946 is of serious concern for the regional emergency response authorities because of the complacency that this lack of frequent occurrences might have created. Hence, tsunami has been called the forgotten hazard in the Caribbean region. Finally, it is another goal to continue discussions for the establishment of a Regional Tsunami Warning Center in the Caribbean.

As started above, the primary objective of the proposed workshop will be to characterize and quantify the multiple tsunami generation sources existing in the Caribbean region. To achieve this objective, the workshop is planned as follows:

• Presentations of the nature of the tsunami generation sources in the Caribbean region. 
• Presentation of paleotsunami studies showing the geophysical evidence of past tsunamis, earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic explosions.
• Presentations of the past and on-going efforts in addressing the Caribbean tsunami hazard from the different potential sources.
• Presentations of recent Caribbean-related programs and research capable of addressing the potential impacts of the tsunami hazard in the Caribbean region.
• Presentations on national and international tsunami efforts and their potential role in the Caribbean
• Discussions on future action items. This might include future modeling efforts, data requirements (topography, bathymetry), the establishment of a warehouse for Caribbean geophysical data, and potential funding sources.