5th November : World Tsunami Awareness Day

The First World Tsunami Awareness Day was observed across the world on 5 November 2016 to spread awareness among people across the world about Tsunami.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) had constituted the day by adopting a resolution in December 2015.

The proposal was first mooted by Japan after the 3rd UN Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai (Japan) in March 2015.

2016 Theme: "Effective Education and Evacuation Drills".

Significance of the Day : Spread awareness among people across the world in matters related to the dangers of tsunami. Stress on the importance of early warning systems in order to mitigate damage from the devastating natural calamity.

Background

November 5 was designated as World Tsunami Awareness Day by UNGA to coincide with the annual anniversary of the 1854 Inamura-no-hi (Fire of Inamura) event.

On this day in 1854, a villager in Wakayama Prefecture in Japan through his quick action had saved countless lives after he had set fire to sheaves of rice on the top of a hill, thus warning people of the imminent danger of a Tsunami.

This was the first documented instance of a tsunami early warning.

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