World Tsunami Awareness Day - 5 November 2018

In 2018, the World Tsunami Awareness Day will align with the International Day for Disaster Reduction and the Sendai Seven Campaign, an advocacy initiative to encourage implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Launched in 2016, the Campaign lists seven targets over seven years. 2018’s target is “Target (c): Reduce direct disaster economic loss in relation to global gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030”.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 was adopted at the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, held from 14 to 18 March 2015 in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan, which represented a unique opportunity for countries:

1. To adopt a concise, focused, forward-looking and action-oriented post 2015 framework for disaster risk reduction;
2. To complete the assessment and review of the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters;
3. To consider the experience gained through the regional and national strategies/ institutions and plans for disaster risk reduction and their recommendations, as well as relevant regional agreements for the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action;
4. To identify modalities of cooperation based on commitments to implement a post 2015 framework for disaster risk reduction;
5. To determine modalities for the periodic review of the implementation of a post 2015 framework for disaster risk reduction.

The present Framework aims to achieve the following outcome over the next 15 years: The substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries.

To commemorate the 2018 World Tsunami Awareness Day and raise awareness on the economic impacts of tsunamis and on “the last mile” of the tsunami early warning system, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) organized a two-hour High Level Panel Discussion, which took place on 16 October 2018, to discuss policies and practices to reduce tsunami risks in countries highly dependent on tourism revenues. The meeting to raise tsunami awareness opened with a minute of silence in memory of the 2,000 confirmed dead and 680 officially missing in the tsunami and earthquake which struck Indonesia on September 28.

“The world is safer today against tsunamis. Many early warning systems have been established since the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami not only in the Indian Ocean, but also in the Caribbean and the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean,” said Dr. Vladimir Ryabinin, Executive Secretary IOC and Assistant Director-General of UNESCO in his opening remarks. He continued on to mention challenges the world faces due to tsunamis not triggered by earthquakes, but by landslides and meteorites that are more difficult to measure as well as the lack of ongoing maintenance to warning systems.

Representatives from different regions, including the Caribbean, the Maldives, and Japan to name a few, mentioned the impacts of recent tsunamis on their economies. The 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami “was one of the most expensive in terms of economic losses. It cost more than US$315 million and affected many sectors including tourism,” said Mr. Teru Fukui, Member, Japan House of Representatives. Many of these areas have been working on common early warning systems and a number of mitigation measures that will build safer islands and coastal areas while helping to evacuate and secure the lives of thousands of people who are living there throughout the year - not only tourists. To conclude Ms. Kirsi Madi, UNISDR Director said: “Education remains the number one preventive measure that can save more lives in order to leave no one behind in the future.”

Outside of large-scale famine, a pandemic or a nuclear accident, there are few worst-case scenarios than a tsunami. Tsunamis are rare events, that can be among the deadliest and costliest hazards when they do happen. They affect many economic sectors, but agriculture, housing and tourism are the most vulnerable. One common theme that has emerged time and again is the importance of education, including evacuation drills, for ensuring that communities act decisively and without panic when the tsunami warnings reach them.

The damage caused by tsunamis lasts long after the initial destruction. Tsunamis can cause a decrease in tourism in affected areas, which can lead to great economic loss in relation to a country's Gross Domestic Product. A prime example of this can be seen in one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern times, the Indian Ocean Tsunami. The tsunami of December 26th, 2004 had a devastating impact on the coastal regions of the countries along the Indian Ocean. Almost 300,000 people lost their lives, and amongst those casualties, tens of thousands were tourists.The damage to the tourist destinations, as well as the high tourist death-count, resulted in a sharp decline in the tourism industry.

Immediately after the tsunami, thousands who worked in the tourist industry lost their jobs, as tourists were afraid to travel to affected countries. Thailand, one of the hardest hit countries in the 2004 tsunami, was a thriving tourist region. Out of over 4,000 casualties, almost 2,500 were tourists. As the country recovered, the Thai government attempted to lure back visitors by reopening tourist hotels and businesses. Despite strenuous efforts, the country still showed a 90% decrease in hotel bookings, and a 26% decrease in general tourism. These tsunamis serve as examples of affected regions and their dependency on tourism revenue and the importance of attracting tourists back to those regions.

Improving tsunami awareness and education can not only prevent the amount of initial destruction of tsunamis, but also the economic consequences that transpire afterwards when affected countries strongly rely on their tourism industry. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2016, and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council intend to raise awareness and spread information in order to better manage the outcome of these natural disasters, and therefore reduce the economical ramifications.