Portugal joins tsunami warning network_National emergency broadcasting network

The Portuguese coast is extensive with more than 943 km of coastlines in continental Portugal and some other 667 km of coasts in the archipelagos of the Azores and 250 km in Madeira. Not all are at earthquake risk but many are located along the Africa-Eurasia plate boundary, which makes them very vulnerable to seismic activities.

Portugal suffered two recent major earthquakes and tsunamis in February 1969 in continental Portugal and in January 1980 in the Azores killing some 80 people altogether.

“It is up to each country to subscribe to early warning provider. As an example, the new service provider operational today in Portugal will allow countries in the North East Atlantic region such as Mauritania, Morocco, Ireland, United Kingdom and France to benefit from the service if they subscribe to it."

The NEAM early warning system is one of the four main early warning systems existing in the world including those in the Pacific, the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean where the early warning system was introduced following the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, which killed some 230,000 people.

It is estimated that more than 130 million people live around the Mediterranean and more than 230 million tourists visit the region every year; people who could be potentially at risk if any tsunami happens today.

The increase of availability and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information is one of the seven targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the global plan for reducing disaster losses by 2030.

Since the year 2000, more than 11 million people have been affected by tsunamis and this has resulted in some 250,000 deaths with the highest death tolls in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Japan, India, and Thailand.

Date:

23 Nov 2017

Sources:

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)