On December 26, 2004, a powerful undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1–9.3 struck off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, prompting a massive tsunami that swept across the Indian Ocean, with the United Nations terming it one of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded.
On July 30, 2025 a powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia’s far Eastern Kamchatka coast triggered tsunami warnings around the world, before Japan, Russia and authorities in the US downgraded most tsunami warnings.
Thankfully, the region near the epicenter of the quake is sparsely populated, with early reports indicating only minor injuries.
The Russian tsunami warnings came just months before the world is set to mark the 21st anniversary of the devastating Indian Ocean earthquake that resulted in a tidal wave, or tsunami, that affected 14 countries and claimed the lives of over 200,000 people.
Several African countries, including Somalia, Kenya, South Africa and Seychelles were affected, with Somalia being the hardest hit on the African continent, losing 200 people.
Tsunamis are rare events but can be extremely deadly. In the last 100 years, 58 tsunamis have claimed more than 260,000 lives. That’s an average of 4,600 per disaster, surpassing any other natural hazard.
While the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004 had the highest death toll, between 1998 and 2018, the global financial losses from tsunamis are believed to amount to some US$200 billion.
Over the years, several measures have been put in place to prevent a repeat of the 2004 disaster.
In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly established the World Tsunami Awareness Day, an annual event held on 5 November to raise awareness of the dangerous effects of tsunamis, and the importance of tsunami preparedness and early warnings.
In 2022, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) launched the #GetToHighGround campaign, focused on promoting awareness about reducing the risk of tsunamis.
During the campaign, citizens are encouraged to participate in drills, runs, or walks along tsunami evacuation routes, which helps communities prepare for natural disasters and build their resilience.
“Tsunamis can be deadly, but they needn’t be,” UNDRR noted in a statement ahead of the 2022 World Tsunami Awareness Day.
“Early warning and early action are effective tools to protect people, saving lives, and preventing the hazard from becoming a disaster. To be effective, tsunami early-warning systems must cover every at-risk person, they must be multi-hazard, and communities must be prepared so they can act quickly.”
With the Russian earthquake having only caused minor injuries, these mechanisms seem to be working around the globe.
According to tsunamiday.undrr.org, tsunamis must be treated as multi-dimensional hazards, since they “threaten human life, disrupt livelihoods, industry, agriculture, gender equality, and critical services such as education and healthcare.”
The organization says access to high quality, readily available information is key for supporting national mechanisms and local preparedness, and enhancing awareness about early warning systems.
But it does not end there, as calls for global cooperation intensify.
“Events like these remind us that hazards move swiftly across geographical borders – and when it comes to tsunamis, they can cross oceans in hours,” Kamal Kishore, a UN officer for disaster risk reduction, said after the recent Russian earthquake.
The world, he said, needs a multilateral approach to manage global-scale risks. “Observation, forecasting, alerts, and response must be coordinated across countries. It takes global cooperation to deliver local protection,” he noted in a LinkedIn post.
Preparedness, added Kishore, must reach every last mile, adding that “warning system technologies are essential – but they are meaningless if people don’t receive, understand, or act on them.”
He urged citizens to embrace regular drills which in the long run save lives, taking note of the fact that “practicing what to do – and doing it often – builds muscle memory.”
The UN official said through the World Tsunami Awareness Day and the “Get to High Ground” campaign, they promote community-level exercises that turn “awareness into readiness.”
Rwandese tech founder Ndahayo Thierry, is one of many commentators on the African continent who have called for the deployment of cutting-edge technology to mitigate the effects of future tsunamis.
“The need for an early warning system becomes even more apparent. The lessons learned from the Indian Ocean Tsunami must fuel our commitment to disaster preparedness. Let us ensure that we are better prepared for the future,” he posted.