Islamabad (Web Desk): World Tsunami Awareness Day is being observed today (Tuesday) across the globe including Pakistan.
The day is aimed at raising awareness about tsunami and sharing innovative approaches to risk reduction.
The theme for World Tsunami Awareness Day 2024 centers around “building resilient communities,” which emphasizes community-based approaches to preparedness and resilience-building.
According to the United Nations (UN), In December 2015, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) designated November 5 as World Tsunami Awareness Day, calling on countries, international bodies and civil society to raise tsunami awareness and share innovative approaches to risk reduction.
World Tsunami Awareness Day was the brainchild of Japan, which due to its repeated, bitter experience has over the years built up major expertise in areas such as tsunami early warning, public action and building back better after a disaster to reduce future impacts.
UN Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) facilitates the observance of World Tsunami Awareness Day in collaboration with the rest of the United Nations system.
Tsunamis are rare events but can be extremely deadly. In the past 100 years, 58 of them have claimed more than 260,000 lives, or an average of 4,600 per disaster, surpassing any other natural hazard.
As per a UN report, the deadly disaster of tsunami in the Indian ocean in December 2004 surpassed any other natural hazard which occurred in past 100 years.
Millions of deaths took place, and 14 countries were affected by the tsunami. The hardest hit country was Thailand, and an estimate suggests that 2,27,000 died alone in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and India.
In a bid to spread the awareness, the UN General Assembly in December 2015 declared November 5 as world tsunami awareness day. And, since then, the day has been observed continuously every year.
By the year 2030, an estimated 50% of the world's population will live in coastal areas exposed to flooding, storms and tsunamis.
Investing in resilient infrastructure, early warning systems, and education is critical to saving people and protecting their assets against tsunami risk in the future.