The Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 was the most devastating natural disaster to hit the countries in South and Southeast Asia in the recent history. No country was ready for the 9-magnitude earthquake and the resulting tsunami. Over 230,000 people across 14 countries lost their lives during the disaster, and many more lost their homes and businesses. These losses can be attributed heavily to the lack of emergency preparedness as no early warning systems had been put in place in the Indian Ocean.

Ten years later, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) commemorates the anniversary of this tragic incident and remembers all those who lost their lives in it. Since 2004, affected countries have made serious investments in early warning. Countries have worked on everything from instituting warning services to improving emergency medical response.

With the support of the ESCAP Trust Fund for Tsunami, Disaster and Climate Preparedness, ADPC was able to set up the Tsunami Early Warning Center for the Indian Ocean region. ADPC also conducted a project with support from the UNDP to provide community-based disaster risk reduction training to tsunami-affected communities in Southern Thailand, among other initiatives.

Nonetheless, there is still a long way to go in disaster risk reduction in the Indian Ocean. Where localized solutions exist, regional solutions are still not well developed.

“More cross-border collaboration within the region in needed in sharing early warning information and risk assessment results, as disasters do not recognize national boundaries,” states Mr. Shane Wright, Executive Director of ADPC.