Images of SiAM's activities and events in Italy to raise tsunami risk awareness5th November is the World Tsunami Awareness Day (WTAD), established by the UN to raise awareness of tsunami risk and promote global preparedness to protect coastal communities. This year marks 20 years since the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, triggered by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake near Sumatra, Indonesia.
The focus of #WTAD2024, in fact, moves from the lessons learned following the destructive Sumatra event. The tsunami struck countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India, causing over 230,000 casualties and destruction along coastlines across the Indian Ocean. The 2004 tragedy highlighted the lack of warning systems and the limited awareness of coastal communities about tsunami risk.
Reflecting on the events of 2004 is not only an act of remembrance for the victims, but a reminder to invest in warning technologies and preparedness interventions that involve the community on an ongoing basis, as an informed and timely response can make all the difference. Teaching new generations how to adopt proactive tsunami behaviour is crucial to building communities ready to deal with low frequency but high impact natural threats. The focus of today's event was shared in a Circular Letter from the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanic Commission. The Letter emphasises theimportance of carrying out activities that support the global expansion of tsunami early warning systems and encourages member states to raise public awareness of tsunami risk by organising drills, recreational activities or walking evacuation routes for tsunami risk by supporting the #GetToHighGround #TsunamiDay initiative.
The WTAD 2024, framed in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, aims to reduce disaster risks through education and resilience building, focusing on children and youth by keeping the #GetToHighGround initiative alive.
In Italy, SiAM supports the process of community awareness raising and individual and collective preparedness through the UNESCO Tsunami Ready programme, which offers guidelines for a rapid and coordinated response and is part of the objectives of the #OceanDecade for which it has been endorsed . This programme includes installing signs in areas at risk, training inhabitants and working with local authorities to improve evacuation plans. Moreover, in Italy - throughout the year - the Civil Protection carries out numerous initiatives, especially in vulnerable territories, which aim to involve children and young people to mitigate contextual risks (e.g. IoNonRischio).
The Tsunami Warning Centre, since 2017, has been working simultaneously A) on alerting aspects, to reduce the timing and optimise the warning chain for the population and B) on awareness-raising interventions to reduce the last mile gap (that process that allows the community to be ready to receive an alert and, consequently, translate it into virtuous behaviour).
In recent months, CAT-INGV has carried out several activities in both directions:
WARNING: the international conference on tsunami warning systems induced by volcanic activity, held on the island of Stromboli from 5 to 7 October, which was endorsed by UNESCO as a contextualised activity at the #OceanDecade.
AWARENESS and PREPAREDNESS: the municipality of Minturno, in the province of Latina, is the first Italian municipality to be recognised by UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready.
AWARENESS and PREPAREDNESS for young people: Genoa 2024 science festival for children and students of all levels where, for a week, tsunamis were one of the main topics with activities, interactive exhibits, videos and storymaps narrated and shared among peers.