The First World Tsunami Awareness Day was observed across
the world on 5 November 2016 to spread awareness among people across the world
about Tsunami.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) had
constituted the day by adopting a resolution in December 2015. The proposal was
first mooted by Japan after the 3rd UN Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction
held in Sendai (Japan) in March 2015.
2016: “Effective Education and Evacuation Drills”.
Significance of the Day
(i) Spread awareness among people across the world in
matters related to the dangers of tsunami.
(ii) Stress on the importance of early warning systems in
order to mitigate damage from the devastating natural calamity.
Background
November 5 was designated as World Tsunami
Awareness Day by UNGA to coincide with the annual anniversary of the 1854
Inamura-no-hi (Fire of Inamura) event. On this day in 1854, a villager in
Wakayama Prefecture in Japan through his quick action had saved countless lives
after he had set fire to sheaves of rice on the top of a hill, thus warning
people of the imminent danger of a tsunami. This was the first documented
instance of a tsunami early warning.
