'World Tsunami Awareness Day' kicks off in Kochi, Japan
Kuroshio, Kochi—More than 350 “future leaders” from 29 countries are gathering in this coastal town in Japan’s Shikoku Island for a two-day summit to increase their awareness about the threats of tsunami and risk reduction.
The gathering is part of the World Tsunami Awareness Day, which was part of ongoing international efforts to promote awareness on preventative measures related ton tsunami.
These future leaders are high-school students from various parts of Japan who will join other students from 29 foreign countries. Over here they will discuss and share their knowledge on threats of natural disasters and disaster risk reduction through fieldworks and breakout session beginning today and tomorrow.
There are 65 students from 10-member Asean taking part in the awareness campaign. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines continue to face numerous natural disasters, especially tropical cyclones. Although tsunami is rare, when it happens to bring great causalities liked the one Thailand and Indonesia faced during the Christmas Day of 2004 which killed over 120,000 people.
The resolution to establish the World Tsunami Day was adopted by the 142 countries at the United Nations during the general assembly in 2015 to teach the future generations on ways to reduce damages and other risks.
The Jakarta-based think tank, Economic Research Institute of Asean and East Asia (ERIA), involves in research works related to the region’s economic growth including risk assessments. ERIA has been assisting the ongoing efforts to promote awareness of tsunami threats.
