In his message issued today, Secretary-General Guterres said it has been almost 20 years since the devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean in December 2004. It is counted among the deadliest disasters in recent history, in which more than 2.25 lakh people lost their lives.
He pointed out that 700 million people around the world are still at risk of being affected by tsunamis and the best way to prevent it is to bring everyone under the early warning system.
It is an important initiative of the United Nations, with the goal of bringing all people to life-saving precautions by 2027.
A tsunami refers to the powerful, upwelling waves that often arise after earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or landslides in water bodies, and engulf large areas.
Although tsunamis occur infrequently, according to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), they are one of the world’s most serious threats.
There have been 58 tsunamis in the last 100 years, killing more than 260,000 people. In addition, there is an economic loss of 280 billion dollars.
According to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), tsunami waves can travel long distances and reach the coast within minutes, and their speed can reach 800 kilometers per hour.
Decreased global coverage
Early warning systems have helped reduce the number of casualties and economic losses from disasters around the world.
While presenting the 2022 Early Warning Mechanism, the Secretary-General said extreme weather and climate events are increasing due to human-caused climate change. Against this backdrop, early warning systems are not a luxury but a cost-effective means of saving lives.
Advances have been made in technology for disaster prediction and monitoring, but challenges remain. UN assessments show that only 50 percent of countries currently have adequate multi-hazard warning systems.
The situation is even worse in developing countries, where climate-related disasters cause 15 times more deaths than in other parts of the world.
Community capacity building
On December 26, 2004, a tsunami wave in the Indian Ocean caused widespread devastation in Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka and other countries, prompting global cooperation to prepare for the disaster.
It laid the foundation for a warning system that is now an important security measure for 27 countries.
However, experts believe that warning systems prove effective only when communities know what action to take after receiving a warning.
In this sequence, Secretary-General Guterres highlighted the importance of education to save lives, which needs to be taken with children and youth.
He called on countries’ governments and partners in coastal communities to alert local populations to evacuate to safe places immediately after receiving warnings.