Today is World Tsunami day.
The vast majority of all natural disasters are water-related. They account for 70 per cent of all deaths related to disasters. Unplanned urbanisation makes the impact of these events far worse. In addition the degradation of ecosystems and services associated with them also increases their impact.
In 2019 World Tsunami Day will focus on reducing the damage to critical infrastructure caused by tsunamis. The aim is to help avoid disruption of essential civic service. Over 700 million people live in low-lying coastal areas and Small Island Developing States. These people are exposed to extreme sea-level events including tsunamis.
Investing in resilient infrastructure, early warning systems, and education is critical to saving people and protecting their assets against tsunami risk. The United Nations will be promoting these activities.
Support the 2019 BuildToLast campaign and spread the word about World Tsunami Awareness Day! Use these hashtags in your social media posts: #TsunamiDay #BuildToLast
Image courtesy of iStockPhoto.
