UNESCO has decided to extend its tsunami protection program to all risky areas of the world by 2030, including the Mediterranean Sea, where a tsunami is possible within 30 years.
The program “Tsunami ready“In dozens of communities in the Caribbean, the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, the pilot application will be extended to thousands of other communities at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Conference (UNESCO). The program sets out twelve indicators that should be respected by the respective communities with the help of UNESCO experts. This includes developing a threat identification, awareness-raising plan, and preparing the population to combat it.
Prevent coastal population
Most of the tsunamis recorded to date have affected the coastal population of the Pacific և Indian Ocean. However, UNESCO warns that all maritime areas, including the Mediterranean, are at risk. «There is a very high probability of a one-meter, catastrophic wave in the next thirty years.said Vladimir Ryabinin, Executive Secretary of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Commission on Oceanography.
About 70% of tsunamis, according to Vladimir Ryabinin, are caused by an earthquake, such as the one in the Indian Ocean in 2004, which killed more than 210,000 people. But they could also be triggered by volcanic eruptions, such as the one on the Pacific island of Tonga last January. «More than 40 communities in 21 countries are now safer after our Tsunami-ready projectsaid Vladimir Ryabinin. Before adding that UNESCO wants:ensure that 100% of the endangered coastal population is ready to respondagainst the tsunami.
Very active Stromball volcano
The Greek islands of Kos և Samos in the Mediterranean Sea are ready, says Bernardo Aliaga, an ocean expert at the UNESCO Office. Egypt Alexandria has started implementing the program on which Istanbul and Cannes are working, he said. «The general principle is that where there was a tsunami, there will be a tsunami. “- said Bernardo Aliaga. Like what happened in the Aegean Sea or in the Strait of Messina in 1908, which destroyed the coastal cities. Experts are particularly concerned about the situation around the Stromboli volcano in the Aeolian Islands, which has a very active feature of “Sicily” being close to the coast of southern Italy.
The UNESCO project benefits from the support of the United Nations Office for Disaster Reduction (UNDRR), the European Union, and donor countries such as Australia, Japan, Norway, and the United States.
Source: Le Figaro
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