Statements and messages

The expansion of tsunami early warning systems since 2004 is shows how international cooperation can improve people’s lives. But sustained investment is essential. On World Tsunami Awareness Day, we call on countries to invest in tsunami preparedness.

On this 10th World Tsunami Awareness Day, let us invest in preparedness – for every coastline, and every community, everywhere.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Indian Ocean Tsunami - one of the deadliest disasters in recent history. More than 230,000 people lost their lives.

Twenty years ago, the Indian Ocean tsunami which emanated as a result of an earthquake that occurred off the coast of Indonesia had devastating consequences.

Tsunamis can in an instant destroy entire towns and erase decades of development.

On 5 November, World Tsunami Awareness Day, the international community comes together to remember the lives lost to tsunamis, and to inform and protect over 700 million individuals living in areas vulnerable to ocean hazards around the world.

On this World Tsunami Awareness Day, let us commit to closing these gaps by achieving Target G of the Sendai Framework to expand early warning and early action for everyone.

The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction's message on World Tsunami Awareness Day

On World Tsunami Awareness Day, we call on countries, international bodies, and civil society to increase understanding about the threat and share innovative approaches to reduce risks.

However rare they might be, tsunamis are the single most deadly of all sudden onset natural hazards. Millions of people live and work in tsunami-exposed communities across the world’s oceans.