It is reported that UNESCO will announce a program to respond to tsunamis in the UN Ocean Conference, to be held from 27 June to 1 July in Lisbon, Portugal. Vladimir Ryabinin, Executive Secretary of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, noted that tsunamis impact communities differently. This new program can help all communities build a strategy tailored to the local risk factors. UNESCO will mobilize financial resources by leveraging partnerships. 

UNESCO pointed out that though the majority of tsunamis impact coastal populations in the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions, all ocean regions are at risk. For example, the probability of a tsunami wave exceeding 1 metre in the Mediterranean in the next 30 years is very high. Regions with high risks include Aegean Sea, the Algerian coast, Italy’s Aeolian Islands, and French Riviera. Considering the number of affected people in relevant regions, in the event of a tsunami, it may cause severe impact.  

For now, the 5 regional tsunami warning centers in Portugal, Italy, France, Turkey and Greece can sound the alarm of tsunamis caused by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions within their territories. “However, because the research in this field is not enough, the objects monitored by the warning system do not include submarine volcanoes,” said Bernardo Aliaga, an expert from the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, as quoted by France’s Libération. 

Source：XINHUA