New Tsunami awareness programme on National Safety Day
Colombo (LNW): In observance of National Safety Day, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) has announced the initiation of a new awareness programme aimed at educating the public about tsunami dangers.
Major General (Retd) Sudantha Ranasinghe, the Director General of the Disaster Management Centre, revealed that this awareness initiative will utilise a caller tune ringtone on mobile phones.
Tomorrow (Dec 26) marks the 19th anniversary of the 2004 Tsunami, a catastrophic event that remains one of the world’s deadliest natural disasters, impacting more than 10 countries in the Indian Ocean.
To commemorate this solemn occasion, a two-minute silence will be observed nationwide from 9:25 a.m. to 9:27 a.m. in memory of all those who lost their lives in the 2004 tsunami and other natural disasters in Sri Lanka, as per the DMC’s directive.
The 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami resulted from a powerful undersea megathrust earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1 off the coast of Sumatra Island, Indonesia.
The disaster claimed over 230,000 lives across multiple countries, with Sri Lanka being one of the hardest-hit nations, experiencing over 40,000 fatalities and significant property damage.
Since 2005, December 26 has been designated as “National Safety Day,” and commemorative events are held annually as a continuous national remembrance of those who lost their lives in Sri Lanka due to various natural disasters, including the devastating tsunami.
The newly launched awareness programme using mobile phone ringtones seeks to enhance public understanding and preparedness for potential tsunami threats in the future.
