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World Tsunami Awareness Day

VK GUPTA. Dated: 11/5/2018 11:48:04 AM

World Tsunami Awareness Day is celebrated on November 5 of every year. Tsunamis are rare circumstances but can be extremely deadly. In the past 100 years, 58 of them have required more than 260,000 lives, or an average of 4,600 per disaster, exceeding any other natural hazards. A large number of deaths in that period was in the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004. It caused an evaluated 227,000 fatalities in 14 countries, with Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand hardest-hit.
In December 2015, the UN General Assembly designated 5 November as World Tsunami Awareness Day. The Assembly called on all countries, international bodies and civil society to observe the day, in order to raise tsunami awareness and share innovative approaches to risk reduction.The debut World Tsunami Awareness Day focuses on education and evacuation drills. Over the past two decades, tsunamis have accounted for almost 10 per cent of economic losses from disasters, setting back development gains, especially in countries that border the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Just three weeks next that the international identity came together in Kobe, in Japan’s Hyogo region. Governments approved the 10-year Hyogo Framework for Action, the first comprehensive global agreement on disaster risk reduction. They also founded the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System, which boasts scores of seismographic and sea-level monitoring stations and disseminates alerts to national tsunami information centres. 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. The highest number of deaths in that period was in the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004. It caused an estimated 227,000 fatalities in 14 countries, with Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand hardest-hit.. They also created the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System, which boasts scores of seismographic and sea-level monitoring stations and disseminates alerts to national tsunami information centres. Rapid urbanization and growing tourism in tsunami-prone regions are putting ever-more people in harm’s way. That makes the reduction of risk a key factor if the world is to achieve substantial reductions in disaster mortality – a primary goal of the Sendai Framework, the 15-year international agreement adopted in March 2015 to succeed the Hyogo Framework.
World Tsunami Awareness Day was the brain child 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.
The date for the annual celebration was chosen in honour of the Japanese story of “Inamura-no-hi”, meaning the “burning of the rice sheaves”. During an 1854 earthquake a farmer saw the tide receding, a sign of a looming tsunami. He set fire to his entire harvest to warn villagers, who fled to high ground. Afterwards, he built an embankment and planted trees as a buffer against future waves.
Most tsunami waves are less than 10 feet high. In extreme events, they can exceed 100 feet. Large tsunamis can flood more than a mile inland. The first wave may not be the largest or most damaging, and the danger may last for hours or days. Tsunamis are a serious threat to life and property. Even small tsunamis can be dangerous, especially to swimmers, surfers, and boats in harbors.
Rapid urbanisation and increasing tourism in tsunami-prone regions are putting ever-more people in harm’s way.
Awareness raising activities will be planned throughout the Conference through thematic events, exhibitions, and distribution of knowledge materials. Following the devastating Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004, the Government of India established an Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) under the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) at Hyderabad. The Centre, operational since October 2007, has a state-of-the-art infrastructure for generating and disseminating tsunami bulletins for the entire Indian Ocean region. India, along with 23 other Indian Ocean countries, participated in a tsunami mock drill on September 7-8, 2016. Besides increasing awareness, the training evaluated the preparedness of participating nations to handle tsunami and other similar emergency situations.
The observance of the day would help to spread awareness among people across the world in matters related to the dangers of the tsunami and shall stress the importance of early warning systems to mitigate damage from the often devastating natural hazard,” the release said. You can use the hashtag WorldTsunamiAwarenessDay to spread awareness on social media.
As a result, the UN General Assembly has designated 5 November as World Tsunami Awareness Day and called on the world to mark it. The date of 5 November was chosen in honour of a true story from Japan: “Inamura-no-hi”, which means the “burning of the rice sheaves”. The observance of the day would help to spread awareness among people across the world in matters related to the dangers of tsunami and shall stress on the importance of early warning systems in order to mitigate damage from the often devastating natural hazard. It also aims at reviving traditional knowledge about tsunamis.The World Tsunami Awareness Day aligned with the International Day for Disaster Reduction and the "Sendai Seven Campaign" and focussed on Target B of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction which aims at reducing the number of affected people globally by disasters. There are two types of tsunami warnings: official and natural. Both are important. You may not get both. Respond immediately to whichever you receive first. These warnings are broadcasted through radio, television, and wireless emergency alerts. They may also come through outdoor sirens, officials, text message alerts, and telephone notifications.