Thunderclap: #TsunamiDay2016

Tsunamis are rare. But they can be extremely deadly. In the past 100 years, more than 260,000 people have perished in 58 separate tsunamis. At an average of 4,600 deaths per disaster, the toll has surpassed any other natural hazard.

Such a stark impact isn't inevitable, however. Early warning systems can save lives. Equally important is community and individual understanding about how and where to evacuate before a wave strikes.

Tsunamis know no borders, making international cooperation key for deeper political and public awareness of risk reduction measures. As a result, the UN General Assembly has designated 5 November as World Tsunami Awareness Day, with the first edition being held in 2016.

The date of 5 November was chosen in honour of a true story from Japan: “Inamura-no-hi”, which means the “burning of the rice sheaves”. During an 1854 earthquake, a local leader saw the tide receding, a sign of a looming tsunami. He set fire to the sheaves left over from his harvested rice to warn villagers, who fled to high ground. In the aftermath, he helped his community build back better to withstand future shocks, constructing an embankment and planting trees as a tsunami buffer.