International Day for Disaster Reduction 2016: Live to Tell

The International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR), held every year on the 13th October, celebrates how people and communities around the world are reducing their exposure to disasters and raising awareness about the importance of risk mitigation. UNESCO seeks to bolster the resilience of societies through early warning, capacity building, knowledge sharing and networking, and policy advice through working with governments, civil society, research institutions, other UN agencies and international organizations, and all key stakeholders.

The Indian Ocean Tsunami Information Centre (IOTIC) of UNESCO IOC, housed in UNESCO Office Jakarta, published a booklet in Bahasa Indonesia, “Air Turun Naik di Tiga Negeri” (Tsunami in Three Villages), remembering the 1950 Tsunami in Ambon.

The booklet is in line with the theme of the IDDR 2016: "Live to Tell: Raising Awareness, Reducing Mortality", which aims to create a wave of awareness about global actions to stop disasters from claiming lives. The story documents 28 eyewitnesses of a tsunami that happened on a Sunday afternoon on 8 October 1950 in three villages in the island of Ambon, namely, Negeri Hutumuri, Negeri Hative Kecil and Negeri Galala.

There is limited information about the tsunami that happened during the unstable geopolitical situation in the Island of Ambon with the fighting between the Tentara Nasional Indonesia – TNI (Indonesian Army) and the Tentara Republik Maluku Selatan – RMS (Army of the Independent South Moluccas). These eyewitnesses, now aged 70-80, told their experiences of survival during the event. Their stories have raised the awareness of the local government, the community, and the next generation on the tsunami hazards that exist in the island.

The “Air Turun Naik di Tiga Negeri” booklet was officially handed to the local government and the community on Saturday, 8 October 2016 in the Hative Kecil Church during the community mass that is held every year to commemorate the disaster.

The booklet and additional information about the 1950 Ambon tsunami can be downloaded from http://iotic.ioc-unesco.org/.