World Tsunami Awareness Day: November 5

The World Tsunami Awareness Day is observed every year across the world on 5 November to spread awareness among people across the world about Tsunami.

• This year, it was the third edition of World Tsunami Awareness Day after it was instituted in 2015.
• 2018 World Tsunami Awareness Day is aligned with International Day for Disaster Reduction (observed on 13 October) and "Sendai Seven Campaign".
• It focused on Target "c" of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction which aims at reducing direct disaster economic loss in relation to GDP.

Aim of the Day:

• To spread awareness among people across the world in matters related to the dangers of Tsunami.
• To stress on importance of early warning systems in order to mitigate damage from the devastating natural calamity.

One must know:

• The World Tsunami Awareness Day was designated by United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) 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.
• This day coincides 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.

About Tsunami:

• Tsunamis are large waves that approach crashing on coasts due to seafloor movement, majorly associated with landslides or earthquakes.
• The word "Tsunami" gets its name from the Japanese words- "Tsu" means harbor and "Nami" means wave.
• Tsunami is a chain of huge waves created by disturbance underwater.
• These waves are normally associated with earthquakes taking place under or around the ocean.
• Other causes of Tsunami may be submarine landslides, coastal rock falls, volcanic eruptions or extraterrestrial collision.
• Like many other natural disasters, it is difficult to predict Tsunamis but it can be suggested that seismically active areas are more at risk.
• Tsunami waves are highly dangerous and generally look like strong walls of water.
• The strong waves can attack seashore for hours, thereby destructing thousands of lives.

Question:

Q. What is observed every year across the world on 5 November?
a. The World Earthquake Awareness Day
b. The World Volcano Awareness Day
c. The World Tsunami Awareness Day
d. None of the above