The 8.8 M earthquake struck the Kamchatka Peninsula of the Russian Far East on July 30, 2025, barely nine months after the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) urged governments and policymakers worldwide to bolster investments in tsunami preparedness.
The organisation had unveiled a roadmap at an international conference in Banda Aceh, Indonesia to achieve 100 per tsunami-ready coastal communities globally by 2030.
The four-day conference was held to mark 20 years since the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
It culminated with the adoption of the Banda Aceh Statement, a global commitment to improving tsunami warning and mitigation systems. The initiative calls on states and civil society to accelerate investments to meet the 2030 goal.
Currently, 700 million people live in tsunami-prone coastal areas — a figure projected to reach 1 billion by 2050. Locally damaging tsunamis occur in the Pacific every 1-2 years. There is a near 100 per cent chance of a tsunami in the Mediterranean within the next 30 years, according to UNESCO.
The conference recognised new Tsunami Ready communities, including 26 in India and 12 in Indonesia and included real-time drills in two villages near Banda Aceh to test community preparedness.
UNESCO said it also aimed to provide tsunami confirmation within 10 minutes or less for high-risk coastlines by 2030, as part of its commitment to safeguarding lives and reducing disaster impacts.