BHUBANESWAR, Sep 28: Seventy-four additional coastal villages in Odisha have been recognised as “Tsunami Ready” under the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) programme, taking the total number of recognised villages in the state to 100, officials said on Monday.
The recognition was announced during a meeting of the National Tsunami Ready Board (NTRB) and the Odisha government in Bhubaneswar after field assessments were completed in villages across Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts.
The meeting was chaired by Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) Director Balakrishnan Nair and Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) Managing Director Rajesh Prabhakar Patil.
Odisha has identified 381 coastal villages and habitations considered vulnerable to tsunamis. Authorities plan to bring these communities under the programme in phases, with a focus on improving preparedness and strengthening local response systems.
Members of the NTRB carried out field verification on September 26 and 27. During the exercise, they assessed community awareness, preparedness measures and emergency response arrangements while also engaging with residents and local stakeholders.
Following the assessment, the board members met Odisha Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari and briefed him on their findings. Pujari appreciated the efforts of the board and local communities and emphasised the need to further enhance tsunami resilience across vulnerable coastal areas, officials said.
The UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme is a community-based initiative designed to improve preparedness against tsunami threats. It brings together government departments, scientific institutions, community representatives and emergency management agencies to build effective awareness and response mechanisms.
The programme aims to help vulnerable communities safeguard lives, livelihoods and property by improving risk awareness, preparedness and the ability to respond quickly when a tsunami threat arises. It is currently being implemented in 22 countries across the Indian Ocean Region, including India.
Odisha began participating in the programme in 2019, when Venkatraipur (Boxipalli) in Ganjam district and Noliasahi in Jagatsinghpur district became the first villages in the state to receive Tsunami Ready recognition.
A further 24 villages received the recognition in 2024, bringing the total to 26 before the latest assessment. With 74 additional villages now recognised, Odisha has reached the milestone of 100 Tsunami Ready communities.
Officials said India was the first country in the Indian Ocean Region to implement the Tsunami Ready Programme, while Odisha became the first Indian state to prepare communities under the initiative.