World Tsunami Awareness Day: Know how Odisha became 1st Indian state to get Tsunami-ready recognition

Whenever a tsunami hits any part of the world, it creates devastation. Loss of properties, human and animal life, and destruction put the place back by several decades. And it takes years for the people to get their life to normalcy. That is why it is very important for people living in seismic zone or that is prone to landslides, to be prepared for such natural disasters.

The first state in India that took important steps towards creating awareness on tsunamis was Odisha and it helped two of its villages get tsunami-ready recognition. On World Tsunami Awareness Day, know how Odisha became the first state in the country to get such a technology.

Tsunami-ready - What it means?

Two villages in Odisha-Venkatraipur (Boxipalli), Rangeilunda block, Ganjam district, and Noliasahi village, Ersama block, Jagatsinghpur district were first to receive an acknowledgement from the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (ICO), UNESCO for effective preparedness to face disasters like tsunami. With this achievement, India became the first country in the Indian Ocean to have tsunami-ready preparedness.

The prime aim of this programme is to prepare the coastal community for such unexpected natural calamities so that the loss of property and life can be minimised. Places or villages tsunami-ready means they are prepared to face such natural disasters. Such programmes are important for places that are close to coastal areas and have the maximum possibility of earthquakes or tsunamis.

What necessitated places to be tsunami-ready?

More than 15 years ago in 2004, a tsunami hit the Sumatra-Andaman region when the earthquake occurred in the Indian Ocean. The world over many people were killed. More than 10000 people died in Southern India due to this tsunami.

Communities residing in the vicinity of the Indian Ocean coasts were hit very hard. To date, it is one of the biggest natural disasters to have hit the world.

And that necessitated making the people in the coastal areas tsunami-ready. And since Odisha is one state that has a long coastal area, it was important that more and more people living around the coastal line should be tsunami-ready.