In August 2023, a special training program took place in Hawaii, focused on protecting countries in the Pacific and Caribbean regions from the threat of tsunamis. This training, known as the ITIC Training Programme on Tsunami Early Warning Systems (ITP-Hawaii), gathered participants from 26 different countries. The participants included experts from tsunami warning centers and emergency response agencies, including from 19 Pacific and five Caribbean Small Island Developing States.
In collaboration with the Government of Indonesia, UNESCO has documented eyewitness accounts from the 1995 tsunami in Dili, Timor-Leste, adding to an already vast database of tsunami eyewitness accounts in the Indian Ocean.
On May 14, 1995, a magnitude 6.9 Mw earthquake occurred at 08:33 pm (11:33 UTC) in the Flores Sea, hitting Timor-Leste. Eleven people went missing and 19 were injured. A 1.5-meter tsunami caused considerable damage in the Dili area and Maliana region, destroying several homes, damaging 40 fishing boats, and leaving hundreds of cattle missing.
Timor-Leste is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area with a high degree of tectonic activity with the constant risk of volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, and tsunamis.
Photos: Interviews with eyewitness of the 1995 Dili Tsunami in Timor-Leste.
Tsunamis can be devastating for the coasts and their communities, often resulting in lasting and damaging effects on marine ecosystems and coastal landscape, causing long-term coastal erosion. On May 14, 1995, a magnitude 6.9 Mw earthquake occurred at 08:33 pm (11:33 UTC) in the Flores Sea. Eleven people were missing and 19 injured. A 1.5-meter tsunami caused considerable damage in the Dili area and Maliana region, destroying several homes, damaging 40 fishing boats, and hundreds of cattle missing.
"We were praying when we felt the earth slightly shaking that night. I was 21 years old and lived next to the Marinir village where the tsunami happened. It was a fishermen's village with boats on the beach, several huts, and a lot of cattle. After the shaking stopped, we tried to go to the coast, as my brother, Avril Soares, was there. It was strange, as the sea water seemed to be closer than it used to be, however we could not see anything clearly. As the sun rose, we could not see anything on the beach, no boats, no cattle, no huts, we only saw the top of a coconut tree in the sea. Nine villagers died, including my brother," recounted Abel Maria Soares, eyewitness of the tragic event.
Photo: Abel Maria Soares, eyewitness of the 1995 Dili Tsunami in Timor-Leste.
A series of three consultation workshops on tsunami risk and preparedness were held within the Parish of Saint George, Grenada, from February to May 2023. These activities took place in the context the Tsunami Ready project “Strengthening Capacities for Tsunami Early Warning in Grenada”, funded by the Australian Direct Aid Program (DAP) and IOC-UNESCO and implemented by the IOC-UNESCO Caribbean Tsunami Information Center (CTIC).
The community consultations were led by the National Disaster Management Agency (NaDMA) of Grenada, who delivered presentations on project sensitization and tsunami outreach activity. A second part of the workshops focused on presenting of and discussion on draft inundation and evacuation maps prepared by Dr Shawn Charles (project expert consultant). These maps have been prepared for five different areas of the Parish of Saint George: St. George’s City, Grand Anse, Grand Mal, Point Salines, and Tanteen.
A pilot project commissioned by IOC UNESCO Tsunami Resilience Section performed in several coastal schools in France between mid-October to end-November of 2022 found that Atlantic French coast children are aware of storm surge risk, while Mediterranean coast children are more knowledgeable about tsunami risk. This project seeks to better understand how young children perceive sea level-related hazards, particularly tsunamis, storm surges, and sea level rise. The findings highlight the different levels of preparedness of schools and children for these three hazards, emphasizing the positive strides made by Mediterranean coast schools in France in educating children about tsunami risks, while Atlantic coast schools in France tend to focus on storm surge awareness. Likewise, the results of the survey in France suggest that proximity to the sea and coast plays an important factor in defining the perception of risks related to sea level. The further a child lives from the sea, the less concerned is to sea level-related risk.
Photo credits: Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua.
The Sixteenth Session of the IOC-UNESCO Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions Intergovernmental Coordination Group for Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (ICG/CARIBE-EWS-XVI) took place from 25-28 April 2023 in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Over 60 representatives from Member States and Territories attended the meeting, 40 of whom attended in person and between 20 to 25 online. Twelve IOC-UNESCO Member States and two U.S. territories were represented in person, with an additional seven present online. This was the first in-person meeting of the ICG/CARIBE-EWS since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and representatives were reminded of the significant value of conducting the work of the ICG face-to-face. The daily interaction of experts and the building of rapport among the Member States was critical to the successful outcomes achieved.
The Indonesian coast, between Banda Aceh and Meulaboh, after the earthquake and the tsunami of 26 December 2004. Photo by Evan Schneider © UN Photo
UNESCO supports Member States in improving capabilities for tsunami risk assessment, implementing early warning systems and enhancing preparedness of communities at risk. UNESCO works closely with national institutions and promotes inter-institutional and regional cooperation. Specialized regional centers provide tsunami information that, together with national analysis, is the basis of the warnings issued for the public. In addition, UNESCO promotes community-based approaches in the development of response plans and awareness campaigns which strongly involve education institutions and end-users.