On 26 December 2004, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake in Sumatra triggered the deadliest tsunami in recorded history. Over 227,000 lives were lost across 15 countries, and 1.6 million people were displaced.
The tsunami was a harsh wake-up call. Not only did the waves arrive within minutes, often without warning, but they also propagated across the entire Indian Ocean basin. In India, Ms Padmavathi Mahendran experienced the impact first-hand: “The entire village was submerged. It was just mud.”
In response, UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, which today has 150 Member States, took decisive action. Building on its experience establishing the Pacific Tsunami Warning System in 1965, it began creating a global warning and mitigation system to minimize the risk of a similar disaster ever happening again.
20 years after the 2004 Tsunami: What progress has been made?
Today, 20 years after the Boxing Day tsunami, the Global Tsunami Warning System spans the Pacific, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, Caribbean, and North-East Atlantic regions. When a significant sea-level disturbance is detected, it sends fast and accurate alerts to coastal communities, reducing response times and saving lives worldwide.
However, raising the alarm is not enough. Communities also need to know what to do when waves occur—which is why UNESCO created its Tsunami Ready programme in 2015. The Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme recognizes communities that meet a standard level of tsunami preparedness based on 12 indicators—from mapping tsunami hazards to conducting regular evacuation drills. Today, communities in more than 30 countries are Tsunami Ready.
According to Bernardo Aliaga, Head of Tsunami Resilience at UNESCO: “Our focus has been on providing not just alerts but a comprehensive preparedness strategy—through real-time monitoring, community education, and strengthened coastal defences. We now know within minutes if a tsunami is imminent, and communities have the tools to act. This progress has been lifesaving.”
As part of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, 91麻豆国产精品自拍 set itself bold new targets to better prevent and understand ocean hazards. Not only is it aiming to make 100% of at-risk communities Tsunami Ready by 2030, but it is also seeking to map 100% of the seabed. This research goes hand-in-hand with the deployment of cutting-edge tools such as Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DART) buoys, which track tsunami waves in real-time and help provide more timely, accurate warnings.
On the 20th anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami, UNESCO’s Global Tsunami Warning System and Tsunami Ready programme highlight the progress made and the ongoing commitment needed to build a tsunami-resilient world. As Ms Syarifah Nargis, a survivor of the 2004 tsunami, underlines, “Disasters can strike at any time. Always stay alert by being aware of your surroundings, understanding potential hazards, recognizing natural warning signs, and knowing the evacuation routes to a safe place. You must stay strong.”
