“Since 2009, every time there’s a tremor, people run to higher ground,” she said, adding that the authorities work directly with village communities to increase risk understanding.

Awareness does not make communities tsunami-proof, but at least they can be ready, she said.

This week, Samoa and the British Virgin Islands were both awarded “Tsunami Ready” status, under an IOC-UNESCO voluntary, performance-based community recognition programme, based on the original US version.  To achieve recognition, communities need to have taken specific actions such as having tsunami risk and evacuation maps, installation of public signage, conduct of annual community drills and round-the-clock local alerting capabilities.

The deadliest known tsunami was the 2004 Indian Ocean disaster. It killed an estimated 227,000 people in 14 countries. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand were hardest-hit. With 9,000 tourists from dozens of other nations among the victims, the disaster also had the worst global impact by a natural hazard in recorded history.

In the tragedy’s wake, the international community set up regional tsunami warning systems overseen by IOC-UNESCO. Their example was the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, founded by the United States in 1949 after an earthquake and tsunami in Alaska and Hawaii, which became the hub of a regional system in 1965.

While the level of development of the regional systems currently varies, the aim to ensure that there are no gaps in the global network.

“This is a truly multinational effort,” said Mr. Angove.

Early warning and full community engagement, whatever the hazard faced, are identified as critical areas in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. The 15-year blueprint was adopted by the international community in 2015 and was the first building block of the global sustainable development agenda.

The Sendai Framework’s seven targets include substantially reducing lives lost, numbers of people affected, and economic damage from natural and human-induced hazards. The target on affected people will be the theme of the second edition of World Tsunami Awareness Day on 5 November.

Date:

27 Jun 2017

Sources:

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)

Themes:

Capacity Development, Community-based DRR, Risk Identification & Assessment, Urban Risk & Planning, GIS & Mapping, Disaster Risk Management, Social Impacts & Social Resilience, Vulnerable Populations, Children and Youth

Hazards:

Earthquake, Tsunami