Respecting Ocean Means Recognizing Its Power, Secretary-General Stresses in Message for World Tsunami Awareness Day, Urging Greater Investment in Early Warning Systems

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Tsunami Awareness Day, observed on 5 November:

Tsunamis are rare events whose consequences can be extremely deadly. They can claim thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of lives.

But there are ways to keep people safe. After the catastrophic 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the world chose to invest in early warning systems.

Decades later, that decision is paying off. The massive earthquake off the Russian coast in late July triggered alerts to millions, from the shores of Japan, to the Pacific Islands, to California.

But the disaster risks continue to evolve. With sea levels rising and more and more people living by the coast, early warning systems need investment and improvement.

That is the purpose of ‘Early Warnings for All’, a UN initiative to establish multi-hazard early warning systems that protect every person on earth by 2027.

Respecting the ocean means recognizing its power. On this tenth World Tsunami Awareness Day, let us invest in preparedness for every coastline, and every community, everywhere.