World News – United States – World Tsunami Awareness Day 2020: date and meaning

Police officers take part in an operation to search for the remains of persons missing after the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011 in Namie, Fukushima prefecture, Japan (Reuters)

After the 2004 tsunami, the United Nations General Assembly designated November 5 as World Tsunami Awareness Day The day has been observed since its inception in December 2015 The main purpose of this day is to raise awareness the millions of people living in small islands and low-lying coastal areas following the tsunami

UNESCO World Tsunami Awareness Day will be structured as a 30-day campaign Key events will focus on indigenous knowledge and memory and scientific expertise These key elements are essential to effectively sustain the programs of risk reduction and their adoption by vulnerable communities

According to the UN, the term « tsunami » includes the Japanese words « tsu » (meaning port) and « nami » (meaning wave) A tsunami is a series of huge waves caused by an underwater upheaval, usually underwater earthquakes or landslides or underwater volcanic eruptions

Tsunami waves can attack the shore and often look like walls of water Waves can be dangerous for hours repeating every 5 to 60 minutes Not the first wave itself, 2nd, 3rd, 4th or later are larger After a wave floods the inland, it often returns to the sea, exposing the bottom The next wave sinks to land in seconds and carries with it more floating debris, damaged by previous waves

A rare event like the tsunami is also one of the deadliest natural disasters known to mankind According to a report published on the official UN website, 58 tsunamis in the past 100 years have caused more than 260,000 deaths, exceeding any other natural hazard, with an average of 4,600 lives per disaster The highest number of fatalities was recorded in December 2004 in a tsunami in the Indian Ocean The terrible calamity claimed the lives of millions of people in the fourteen countries it struck The country hardest hit summer Thailand, while there were an estimated 227,000 deaths in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India

World Tsunami Awareness Day, Tsunami, Earthquake, Earthquake and Tsunami 2004 in Indian Ocean, Natural Disaster, Jone Usamate