Preparedness saves lives: World Tsunami Awareness Day 2025

Tsunamis do not have a season. They can happen anytime, anywhere, even sometimes without warning.

Vulnerable populations, especially children, are often disproportionately affected due to physical, social, and informational barriers that limit their ability to respond effectively.

The world witnessed this tragic reality on 26th December 2004, when the devastating Indian Ocean Tsunami, claiming over 220,000 lives across 14 countries. The impact was beyond measure, but in the years that followed, communities turned grief into action, showing that when we learn from the past, we can save lives in the future. One lesson remained: Preparedness saves lives.

From classrooms to coastlines

The Asia-Pacific region has continued to experience tsunamis, including the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami (GEJE), the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami, and the 2022 Tonga volcanic eruption and tsunami. Each has served as a reminder that the tsunami threat is ever-present, and that we must remember the past and prepare for the future.

Building on Japan's long-standing commitment to tsunami preparedness, UNDP and the Government of Japan launched the regional Tsunami Project that uses schools as an entry point to strengthen wider community resilience. Since 2017, the Project has supported over 220,300 students, teachers, community members in 800 schools in 24 countries across the Asia-Pacific region to conduct tsunami drills and education programmes.

At the heart of this project is Japan's approach to preparedness, whereby tsunami preparedness is part of the culture and children learn how to evacuate safely. From teaching children how to evacuate safely to preserving historical knowledge about past tsunamis, these practices reflect the lessons Japan has learned through centuries of facing disasters.

Through the regional Tsunami Project, thousands of students in coastal areas across Asia-Pacific now know how to act during tsunamis. They carry this knowledge home, sharing what they learn with their families and communities. When students are prepared, everyone is prepared.

Champions of change

This World Tsunami Awareness Day, the UNDP-Government of Japan regional Tsunami brings together the voices of change. Across the Asia-Pacific region, students, teachers, and local leaders are stepping up as champions of change, strengthening a shared culture of preparedness across their schools and communities.

At Chumchonbansaladan School in Thailand, Director Ratchadaporn Thanlek and teacher Pongsak B. Puangphet have turned lessons into leadership. What began as school-based disaster drills soon revealed a critical gap: the evacuation shelter was unsafe and too small to protect everyone. Understanding these risks, they brought together members of the community to clear the area, build new steps to increase accessibility, and reinforced the overall structure, ensuring it could serve the whole village. Their efforts show that when preparedness starts in the classroom, its impact can reach far beyond the school gates.

"Be prepared for everything, when you prepare, you are conscious, and when you learn, you will master it." - It is a life moto Director Ratchadaporn Thanlek lives by.

At Rajaprajanugroh 35 School in Khao Lak, Thailand, teacher Prach Sawangpong turned his own personal tragedy from the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami into a lifelong purpose. With guidance from the Tsunami Project, he and his team developed a comprehensive evacuation plan that they continuously review and improve. His leadership has helped shape the school into a provincial model for community-based disaster preparedness, inspiring others to act through knowledge and collaboration.

Meanwhile, in Indonesia, collaboration between government authorities, leaders, and communities are building a lasting culture of preparedness. Mr. I Putu Suta Wijaya, head of the Bali Province Disaster Risk Reduction Forum (FPRB Bali), supports safe-school programmes and mentors villages to strengthen their preparedness, emphasizing local wisdom, community participation, and shared responsibility.

Whether in classrooms or communities, these champions remind us that resilience begins with people and that every action, and that every action can help shape a safer future.

Digital Transformation (DX) for preparedness

Digital transformation is helping students and communities prepare like never before. The Tsunami Project partnered with governments, schools, and local communities to pilot and scale cutting edge solutions that turn information into action, and awareness into resilience. From virtual reality to real time data, digital innovation is reshaping the way communities prepare for disasters. Technology is no longer just a tool, but a catalyst for faster, smarter, and more inclusive preparedness.

In Indonesia, the STEP-A mobile application is helping students, teachers, and school administrators assess their tsunami preparedness, through a set of questionnaires on a gamified app. For instance, in Aceh, one of the areas hit hardest by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, schools have used STEP-A to strengthen their preparedness planning and drills guided by the app's recommendations. Around the country, data collected from similar schools are seamlessly integrated into the national geospatial digital platform, InaRISK system. This integration enables real time data sharing with government agencies, supporting faster, and more targeted disaster response efforts across the nation.

In Fiji, communities are enhancing their preparedness through the GeoBing App. The app enables real time, geotagged reporting from schools and local groups during drills, strengthening coordination among response agencies while reducing delays. Moreover, the app creates a digital record that supports ongoing evaluation and improvement of evacuation plans, keeping communities at the forefront of disaster resilience.

In Samoa, children are stepping into virtual reality to experience what a tsunami might look like. Through immersive experience, they learn to recognize danger signs and identify safe evacuation routes, turning awareness into lifesaving knowledge.

Learning from experience

Drawing on survivors' testimonies and lessons from the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, as well as over two decades of experience in disaster risk reduction, recovery, and resilience-building across the Asia-Pacific, the new Tsunami Project Report titled "The Water is Rising" distills these insights into four key lessons to guide future recovery and resilience-building efforts in the region.

Preparedness is not a one-time effort, it's a continuous journey of learning and improving.

And across Asia-Pacific, that journey is saving lives.

Read full report

Turning Awareness into Action

When knowledge becomes policy, preparedness becomes culture.

In Palau, support from the project contributed to inspiring the government to declare a National Awareness Month through a presidential proclamation. Every September, schools across the country now conduct evacuation drills as part of a growing culture of preparedness.

In Bali, Indonesia, ten hotels signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with local authorities and nearby schools to use their buildings as evacuation centres during emergencies, demonstrating how tsunami readiness can expand beyond schools to include the private sector and the wider community.

In Thailand, national guidelines for tsunami evacuation drills were developed under the project, now serving as a vital resource for schools in tsunami prone areas to plan and conduct tsunami evacuation drills. These guidelines ensure that evacuation plans are inclusive, specifically addressing the needs of students with disabilities. Based on the National Guidelines, UNDP and the Government of Thailand supported over 240 schools along the Andaman coast to develop their own tsunami preparedness plans.

To support efforts beyond national borders, a Regional Guide for Schools to Prepare for Tsunamis was developed, providing school administrators across the Asia-Pacific with practical, step-by-step guidance to assess risks, plan drills, and strengthen preparedness within their communities.

From classrooms to coastlines, these lessons show that preparedness is not just a practice, it's a mindset, a movement, and a shared responsibility.

Are You Ready? #BePreparedNow