PURPOSE: In December 2015, the United Nations General Assembly designated 5 November as World Tsunami Awareness Day to boost global efforts to strengthen tsunami preparedness By the year 2030, an estimated 50 % of the world’s population will live in coastal areas exposed to flooding, storms and tsunamis. Scaling up international cooperation to developing countries will help ensure that 100% of communities at risk of tsunami are prepared for and resilient to tsunamis by 2030.
FORUM: “Empowering the next generation with the lessons of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.“ World Tsunami Awareness Day 2024. The theme of this year’s WTAD is aligned with the theme of the IDDRR and the Summit of the Future, in September 2024, where ‘youth and future generations’ are a priority. It has been nearly 20 years since the onset of the Indian Ocean Tsunami, which tragically impacted countless lives and communities in South and South-East Asia in late December of 2004. The figures remain sobering and instructive: wave heights across the region exceeded 30 meters, inflicting widespread coastal destruction in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand – as well as 12 additional countries. Total casualties exceeded 230,000 persons, many who were tragically in the direct path of the surging ocean waters. On this year’s World Tsunami Awareness Day; Asia’s coastal and island communities can look back and take pride in having rebuilt their ways of life and regional economies, but much still needs to be done to achieve early warning services and greater preparedness. This year commemorations aim to honour the memory of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami on its 20th anniversary, to highlight its lessons for children and youth around the world and to celebrate the success of progress made in advancing early warning system coverage. Empowering them with this knowledge, which is captured in the #GetToHighGround campaign, can be the difference between life and death when tsunamis emerge.Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #GetToHighGround, #Ocean&ClimateChange, #TsunamiSafety, #TsunamiAlert, #WaterLevels, #TsunamiCoastalObservations, #WorldTsunamiAwarenessDay, #5november, #TsumaniDay, #DisasterResponse, #DisasterResilience.
EVENTS: On November 5th; The UNESCO and UNDRR regional offices will organize a webinar to observe the World Tsunami Awareness Day 2024. WTAD 2024 activities will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Indian Ocean Tsunami by passing its lessons to a new generation of children and youth. On this day, We are calling on all countries at risk from tsunami to take action today: to develop new/revised strategies on tsunami risk, update evacuation routes, to install new tsunami warning sensors and warning systems. We are calling on all actors in all coastal communities to raise the awareness of their children and youth of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and to conduct, if possible, evacuation drills to higher ground any time during the year. We are calling in youth, children and learning institutes to play and learn to Stop Disasters, The Stop Disasters online game teaches children how disasters strike, including tsunamis, and how early warning systems, evacuation plans and education save lives. Get the concept note and Register to participate!
Among other observances, we got the CARIBE WAVE 2024; This annual Tsunami Regional Exercise will take place on March 21, starting at 1500 UTC. The 2024 Alaska’s Tsunami Preparedness Week from March, from 26 to 31, have urged all Alaskans to be aware of, and prepared for, a tsunami hazard in their local regions. the California’s Tsunami Preparedness Week from March 23 to 31, 2024; All Californians are encouraged to plan and register their TsunamiPrep activities (at work, school, and home) to be counted as part of.the activities and the Hawaii’s Tsunami Awareness Month from April 7 to 13; The Pacifex 2024 will be held on May 23rd and the LANTEX 2024 on November 7th.
Ongoing activities: Visit the Virtual Fair hosted by the Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group to learn about earthquake and tsunami hazards of California’s North Coast.
STATEMENTS: Read the Statement of the United Nations Secretary-General on the World Tsunami Awareness Day 2024; November 5th and the Message from the head of the UNDRR on “World Tsunami Awareness Day 2024; November 5th.
PODCASTS: No Tsunami Warning, Advisory, Watch, or Threat; It’s time to assist Member States through education programmes and regular tsunami communication and evacuation exercises. Listen to the audio-podcasts!
CAMPAIGN MATERIALS: Increasing the coordination, readiness for and understanding of tsunamis among citizens and communities around the world. Explore Tsunami Safety Flyers. The UNESCO and partners celebrate Day with “Get To High Ground” campaign. Explore the additional resources and how to join the campaign!
WHY WE CELEBRATE THE DAY?
The United Nations, through UN Resolution 70/203 adopted on 22 December 2015, has designated November 5th as World Tsunami Awareness Day. The day aligns with the International Day for Disaster Reduction (October 13) and the seven targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. November 5th is based on an anecdote and example of a good practice known in Japan as “Inamura-no-hi” (the burning of rice sheaves) which took place on the 5th of November 1854. It is based on a historical event that took place during a massive tsunami disaster that resulted from the 1854 Ansei Nankai Earthquake.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED?
Everyone, everywhere should know how to be prepared for tsunamis and what to do to be safe. This is true for people who live or work near the ocean, but also for anyone who may visit someday. Are you in the TsunamiZone?
Enhance the preparedness of coastal communities for tsunamis.
Improve tsunami detection and early warning systems.
Ensure that communities act decisively and without panic when the tsunami warnings reach them.
Put people and communities at the centre of disaster risk reduction.
Provides a concise, focused, forward-looking and action-oriented framework for disaster risk reduction.
Prioritises better preparedness and building back better in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
PARTNERSHIPS
The World Tsunami Awareness Day is hosted by the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (IOTWMS), the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), the Pacific Tsunami Warning System (PTWS), the Caribbean Early Warning System (Caribe EWS), and the North-eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Tsunami Warning System (NEAMTWS), the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the UNDRR Office in New York, the UNDRR Office in Americas, the UNDRR Office in Asia and Pacific, the UNDRR Office in Africa, the UNDRR Office in Europe, the UNDRR Office in Kobe, Japan, the UNDRR Office in the Arab States, the UNOOSA: United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER); the UNOCHA: UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC), the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA). With the participation of Civil Society Organizations, International and Non-Governmental Organizations, Public and Private sectors, Researchers and academia.