UNESCO recognizes two villages of Odisha as tsunami ready

UNESCO recognizes two villages of Odisha as tsunami ready. The communities of Venkatraipur (Boxipalli) village of Rangeilunda block of Ganjam district and Noliasahi village of Ersama block of Jagatsinghpur district have been acknowledged by Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO for greater preparedness to face the tsunami disaster. With this recognition, India is the first country in the Indian Ocean Region and Odisha is the first state to prepare communities as Tsunami Ready.

In a virtual event on 07 August, 2020 ‘Certificate of Recognition’ has been given to these two communities viz., Venkatraipur and Noliasahi as Tsunami Ready villages. Sri Pradeep Jena, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary and Managing Director, Odisha State Disaster management Authority (OSDMA), Govt. of Odisha received the award from UNESCO official. The communities of the both Noliasahi and Venkatraipur villages in presence of district collectors have received the certificates in the event. The virtual event was organized by Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWMS) Secretariat in Perth, Australia and Indian Ocean Tsunami Information Centre (IOTIC) in Jakarta, Indonesia. Dr. M. Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and Shri. G.V.V. Sharma, IAS, Member Secretary, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Govt. of India graced the event. International delegates, viz., Dr. Srinivasa Kumar Tummala, Head-ICG/IOTWMS, Mr. Ardito M. Kodijat, Head, Indian Ocean Tsunami Information Centre (IOTIC), Prof. Dwikorita Karnawati DG, BMKG & Chair, ICG/IOTWMS of UNESCO-IOC will participate in the programme. At National Level, Dr. S.S.C. Shenoi, Vice-Chairperson, UNESCO-IOC, Former Director, INCOIS & Former Chairman of the National Board on implementation of Indian Ocean Tsunami Ready; Dr. T.M. Balakrishnan Nair, Director (I/C) INCOIS and Shri. E. Pattabhi Rama Rao, Head-TWG, INCOIS & Member-Secretary, National Board on implementation of Indian Ocean Tsunami Ready were present in the event.