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World Tsunami Awareness Day, 2020

November 5, 2020

World Tsunami Day is observed on 5th November every year to promote national and local risk reduction plans. According to the UN, by 2030, an estimated 50 % of the world's population will live in coastal areas exposed to flooding, storms and tsunami's. Tsunami's are rare events but can be extremely deadly, therefore, proper plans and policies will help to reduce the tsunami impact and help to build more resilience and protect populations at risk.

Tsunami waves can travel at the speed of 800 kms/hour and its height can be 20 feet to 300 feet. The speed of tsunami waves depends on the depth of the ocean. The speed of tsunami is fast in deep water while slow down when reaching shallow waters. Worth to mention that around 80% of tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean.

This year�s observance promotes the "Sendai Seven Campaign,� target. This theme focuses on reducing disaster damage to critical infrastructure and the disruption of basic services. The United Nations wants to increase the use of early warning systems, resilient infrastructure, educate people to save and protect their assets against tsunami risk in the future.