Fighting Inequality for a Resilient Future on World Tsunami Awareness Day 2023

To commemorate the World Tsunami Awareness Day 2023, the webinar on Fighting Inequality for a Resilient Future [in the context of tsunamis], was jointly organised by the UNESCO-IOC Indian Ocean Tsunami Information Center, Intergovernmental Coordination Group for Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWMS WG-1 and WG-3), and the Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics of Indonesia (BMKG). The event attracted over 100 participants with many from the Indian Ocean region.

Mrs. Maki Katsuno-Hayashikawa, the Director of UNESCO Jakarta, and Prof. Ir. Dwikorita Karnawati, the Chair of ICG/IOTWMS and Head of BMKG, provided opening remarks. Experts from the Indian Ocean region shared their experiences on a) How to create accessible tsunami early warning for all; b) Research, development, and implementation plan for the Ocean Decade Tsunami Programme; c) Early warning for remote populations from Maldives; and d) Early warning for people with disabilities from Indonesia. BMKG announced preliminary plans for the second Global Tsunami Symposium to be held in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, during November 2023. Closing remarks were provided by Mr. Rick Bailey, Head of the ICG/IOTWMS Secretariat.

Photo: On 4 May 2000, Mr. Wowok saved lives in Palam Village, Banggai Island, Indonesia by alerting member of his community to the tsunami after seeing the incoming wave. Despite being deaf and speech impaired, he used his arms to show that a tsunami was coming and get people to evacuate to higher ground. Right before the six-meter tsunami wave hit, the villagers reached the hill, safe from harm.

The new tsunami awareness videos produced for the occasion of WTAD 2023 were showcased throughout the event. The videos can be viewed on the UNDRR YouTube channel. All webinar presentations and related documents are available on OceanExpert.

Adopted in December 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly, World Tsunami Awareness Day (WTAD) is commemorated on 5 November. The day aligns with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 ("the Sendai Framework"), which is the international agreement to prevent and reduce disaster losses. The purpose of WTAD is to raise awareness on reducing tsunami-related risks and enhance community preparedness.

The theme of 2023 WTAD mirrors that of the International Day of Disaster Reduction: fighting inequality for a resilient future, focusing on raising awareness about the underlying disaster risk drivers - poverty, inequality, and vulnerability - that make tsunami more deadly for those most at risk as well as how the aftermath of a tsunami can drive vulnerable people further into poverty and exacerbate inequality.

An estimated 1.3 billion people (16%) of the global population experience a significant disability (WHO, 2023). When a tsunami strikes, it has a disproportional impact on persons of determination (i.e., with disabilities). Barriers to participation and societal exclusion can include access to early warning messages and evacuation warnings, evacuation route and shelter accessibility, and availability of necessary assistive devices and medical equipment (UNDRR Global Survey Report on Disability & Disasters, 2023).