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Houses located on the coast in front of a beach are destroyed by waves of high tide created by a tsunami.
Tsunami waves often look like walls of water and can attack the shoreline and be dangerous for hours, with waves coming every 5 to 60 minutes.
Photo:Adobe Stock/Itxu

Be tsunami ready: Resilience starts with you

Tsunamis may strike without warning, but their impact can be devastating. As coastal populations grow and sea levels rise, millions remain exposed to a threat that can claim lives and destroy livelihoods within minutes. Yet knowing the warning signs and acting quickly can make the difference between life and death.

Under the theme ¡°Be tsunami ready: Resilience starts with you¡±, World Tsunami Awareness Day (5 November) highlights the power of individual and community preparedness. From knowing evacuation routes to practising emergency drills, everyone has a role in protecting themselves, their loved ones and their communities.

In 2022, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDRR) launched the campaign to promote awareness about reducing the risk of tsunamis. The campaign encourages citizens to participate in drills, runs, or walks along tsunami evacuation routes, which helps communities prepare for natural disasters and build their resilience. These events are inclusive and engaging, and they involve all people in raising awareness about reducing tsunami risk.

Tsunamis can be deadly, but they needn¡¯t be. Early warning and early action are effective tools to protect people, saving lives, and preventing the hazard from becoming a disaster. To be effective, tsunami early-warning systems must cover every at-risk person, they must be multi-hazard, and communities must be prepared so they can act quickly.

Background

In December 2015, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly  5 November as World Tsunami Awareness Day, calling on countries, international bodies and civil society to raise tsunami awareness and share innovative approaches to risk reduction.

World Tsunami Awareness Day was the brainchild of Japan, which due to its repeated, bitter experience has over the years built up major expertise in areas such as tsunami early warning, public action and building back better after a disaster to reduce future impacts.  (Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDRR) facilitates the observance of World Tsunami Awareness Day in collaboration with the rest of the United Nations system.

Tsunamis are rare events but can be extremely deadly. In the past 100 years, 58 of them have claimed more than 260,000 lives, or an average of 4,600 per disaster, surpassing any other natural hazard. The highest number of deaths in that period was in the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004.

Just three weeks after that the international community came together in Kobe, in Japan¡¯s Hyogo region. Governments adopted the 10-year , the first comprehensive global agreement on disaster risk reduction.

They also created the , which boasts scores of seismographic and sea-level monitoring stations and disseminates alerts to national tsunami information centres.

Rapid urbanization and growing tourism in tsunami-prone regions are putting ever-more people in harm¡¯s way. That makes the reduction of risk a key factor if the world is to achieve substantial reductions in disaster mortality ¨C a primary goal of the , the 15-year international agreement adopted in March 2015 to succeed the Hyogo Framework.

What are tsunamis?

The word "tsunami" comprises the Japanese words "tsu" (meaning harbour) and "nami" (meaning wave). A tsunami is a series of enormous waves created by an underwater disturbance usually associated with earthquakes occurring below or near the ocean.

Volcanic eruptions, submarine landslides, and coastal rock falls can also generate a tsunami, as can a large asteroid impacting the ocean. They originate from a vertical movement of the sea floor with the consequent displacement of water mass.

Tsunami waves often look like walls of water and can attack the shoreline and be dangerous for hours, with waves coming every 5 to 60 minutes.

The first wave may not be the largest, and often it is the 2nd, 3rd, 4th or even later waves that are the biggest. After one wave inundates, or floods inland, it recedes seaward often as far as a person can see, so the seafloor is exposed. The next wave then rushes ashore within minutes and carries with it many floating debris that were destroyed by previous waves.

Understanding the formation of tsunamis

Four causes of tsunamis: earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions and meteor impacts.

Infographic illustrating four causes of tsunamis: undersea earthquakes, coastal and underwater landslides, volcanic eruptions and rare asteroid or meteor impacts. Diagrams show how each event displaces water and generates tsunami waves. Image generated by IA.

Social media

Help spread the message with visuals from the .
#TsunamiDay #GetToHighGround

Key Messages

  • In many tsunami scenarios, waves may arrive before warnings. Strong or unusual ground shaking, a sea level rise or fall, or a loud roar are signals to move to high ground or inland.
  • Knowing an evacuation route, agreeing on a meeting point, keeping essential supplies ready and taking part in drills builds readiness through regular practice.
  • When neighbours, teachers, shopkeepers, hotel staff and local leaders know what to do, the entire community becomes safer.
  • Reaching persons with disabilities, children, older persons, tourists and migrants with clear, accessible planning extends protection to those most at risk of being left behind.
  • Warning systems, science and technology matter, and they translate into safety when warnings are trusted, understood and acted upon quicky.

Celebrate World Tsunami Awareness Day

To commemorate World Tsunami Awareness Day, individuals and organizations are encouraged to participate in events, promote awareness, or engage in conversations about investing in tsunami preparedness.

A variety of global activities will be held, and organizers are invited to share their plans so they can be amplified and celebrated. Everyone is welcome to learn more about hosting their own event to raise awareness and promote safety measures in tsunami-prone areas.

Play and learn to stop disasters

This online game teaches children how to build safer villages and cities against disasters. Children learn through playing how the location and the construction materials of houses make a difference when disasters strike and how early warning systems, evacuation plans and education save lives.

Resources

Related Websites

  • Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDRR:
  • Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵESCO:  

Documents

  • General Assembly: 

Youth are key to building strong communities. With their creativity, digital fluency, and adaptability, they are natural leaders in tsunami preparedness. To harness this potential, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵESCO launched in 2024, a youth-led initiative connecting students across the Indian Ocean region to learn, connect, and collaborate for a safer future.

The marine realm is the largest component of the Earth¡¯s system that stabilizes the climate and supports life on Earth and human well-being. That¡¯s why the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ proclaimed the  to support efforts to reverse the cycle of decline in ocean health. 

an abstract illustration of people engaged in an event

International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. We also mark other Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ observances.