Standard guidelines for the Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme.

Abstract

In December 2004, 227,899 people lost their lives and around US$10 billion were estimated as overall economic losses in the 14 countries affected by the 9.1-magnitude Indian Ocean earthquake. In response to the devastation caused by the earthquake and consecutive tsunami, the international community reinforced and expanded its initiatives to reduce the tsunami-related risk of coastal communities worldwide. In response, the Tsunami Unit of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (UNESCO/IOC) was established. It aims to prevent the loss of lives and livelihoods that are caused by tsunamis, offering its support to IOC Member States in assessing tsunami risk, implementing Tsunami Early Warning Systems (EWS) and educating communities at risk about preparedness measures. Since 2015, the UNESCO/IOC has been promoting the Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme as an international performance-based community recognition pilot consisting of key actions that help to reduce tsunami-related risks to individuals and communities. Through the Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme, communities become aware of the risks they face from tsunamis and take steps to address them. To support current and future pilots, UNESCO/IOC commissioned the review and analysis of the Tsunami Ready Guidelines, which were initially established in the Caribbean, with the purpose of expanding the implementation of the programme globally. To this end, a desk-based review of all key documents and literature was conducted to assess the existing frameworks, documents and additional literature about the implementation of the Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme in different regions Figure 1. Recognition sign delivered and countries. Likewise, interviews with to St Kitts & Nevis, in 2021. experts on the Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme, as well as an online survey among relevant and experienced users, were conducted with the purpose of having a better understanding of the areas to be reinforced. This document presents the Standard Guidelines for the Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme based on the review process undertaken. After this introduction, the second section of this manual includes the framework and background information; the third section identifies key issues concerning the Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme and its methodological references; the fourth section presents the indicators to achieve the Tsunami Ready recognition, as well as the templates for requesting recognition; and finally, the fifth section contains the glossary of terms and a list of available tools and references to facilitate its implementation.