World Tsunami Awareness Day |05 November 2020

PS Paul Labaleine

Awareness and preparedness – our best bet against tsunamis’ destructive power

“To secure our future survival as a small island developing state, we have no choice but to invest as much of our resources as we can in awareness and preparedness in all its forms, as they are our best bet against tsunamis’ destructive power.”

This comes in a message from the principal secretary in the Department of Risk and Disaster Management (DRDM), Paul Labaleine, on the occasion of the World Tsunami Awareness Day (WTAD) being celebrated today, November 5.

Mr Labaleine’s message reads:

“The engine of the Seychelles economy is powered by tourism and fisheries. Both of these sectors cannot survive without our ocean as well as our coastal environment.

“Our ocean is obviously a blessing because of its significant earning potential and because of other numerous benefits that it provides. The flip side is that it requires significant resources to ensure its protection from threats originating from various sources.

“In spite of the benefits it accords us, the professionals in the field of risk and disaster management recognise that the ocean has the potential to turn into a destructive force and destroy both natural and manmade environment that exists along the coastlines. One of the most disastrous forces that the ocean can take is that of a tsunami.

“Tsunamis are rare events, but they do occur. They have the potential to claim thousands of lives and causing massive economic loss in just a few minutes, with long lasting negative effects on people’s lives and livelihoods. Countries globally have learned valuable lessons from first-hand experience of tsunamis and have worked tirelessly to create a culture of tsunami awareness among the general public, educating coastal communities at risk and ensuring that people recognise the warning signs so that they take prompt action to evacuate to a safe place.

Seychelles, through the Department of Risk and Disaster Management (DRDM), has in the past engaged in numerous initiatives to create awareness of the ways that the country may be affected and provide knowledge on the preparedness activities that can be done.

“Going back in history, most of us have vivid memories of the tsunami that occurred in December 2004, when the world experienced its most destructive tsunami in modern history. In excess of 200,000 people lost their lives and economic damage in the hundreds of millions was recorded in countries bordering the Indian Ocean.

“In December 2015, the United Nations General Assembly designated November 5 as World Tsunami Awareness Day to promote a global culture of tsunami awareness.

“The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the global plan to reduce disaster losses by 2030, calls for a substantial increase in the number of national and local disaster risk reduction strategies in place by the end of 2020 and urges all countries to have multi-hazard early warning systems in place by 2030. Today, 93 countries report having national disaster risk reduction strategies in place and 69 have access to multi-hazard early warning systems.

“To commemorate the fourth World Tsunami Awareness Day (WTAD) today (November 5, 2020), country representatives will be invited to discuss how they are implementing Target (e) of the Sendai Framework, focusing on related tsunami plans and strategies. Seychelles will be participating through a representative of the Indian Commission through a webinar starting at 4pm local time.

“Last month, the DRDM participated in IOWAVE20, which are essentially Indian Ocean-wide tsunami exercises. The exercises are in effect tools for evaluating the readiness of the end-to-end Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigations System (IOTWMS) and for identifying changes that can improve its effectiveness. We participated on 2 of the 3 planned days for the exercise together with our partners, with the public, private and parastatal sectors.

“The focus of this year’s world tsunami awareness day is on reducing damage to critical infrastructure and preventing the disruption of basic services, including health and educational facilities, in line with Target (d) of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

“During a time when our country’s economy is being impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, the protection of all of our national infrastructure is of utmost importance. The DRDM along with its partners are not blinded to the fact that saving lives and protecting livelihoods of communities at risk of tsunamis requires continued investment in resilient infrastructure, early warning systems and education. Our belief however remains that to secure our future survival as a small island developing state, we have no choice but to invest as much of our resource as we can in awareness and preparedness in all its forms, as they are our best bet against tsunamis’ destructive power.”