States » EastPosted at: Sep 28 2026 7:47PM


Odisha reaches 100-village milestone in tsunami preparedness under UNESCO-IOC programme

Bhubaneswar, Sep 28 (UNI) Odisha has strengthened its community-level preparedness against tsunami hazards, with 100 coastal villages now receiving Tsunami Ready recognition under the UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme, officials said on Monday.
With 75 more villages accorded recognition in 2026, the total number of Tsunami Ready villages in the State has risen to 100, marking a major step towards Odisha’s goal of preparing all 381 tsunami-prone coastal villages and habitations in a phased manner.
Odisha began its Tsunami Ready journey in 2019 when Venkatraipur (Boxipalli) in Ganjam district and Noliasahi in Jagatsinghpur district were recognised under the programme. With this, India became the first country in the Indian Ocean Region to implement the Tsunami Ready Programme, while Odisha became the first State in the country to prepare coastal communities under the initiative.
In 2024, another 24 villages in Odisha received Tsunami Ready recognition.
The achievement reflects the State Government’s sustained focus on scientific disaster preparedness, community participation and strengthening the resilience of coastal communities.
Official sources said Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had in 2024 envisioned making all tsunami-prone coastal villages in Odisha Tsunami Ready, with emphasis on strengthening preparedness at the grassroots level.
Working towards this objective, the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) has been expanding the UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme across the State’s six coastal districts.
Members of the National Tsunami Ready Board (NTRB), after conducting field verification of coastal villages on September 26 and 27, met Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari and apprised him of their observations and findings.
The interaction provided an opportunity to share field-level experiences and reaffirm the State’s efforts towards comprehensive coastal preparedness.
The field assessment also enabled national experts and disaster management officials to review Odisha’s institutional preparedness and OSDMA’s sustained efforts in strengthening community-level disaster resilience.
The NTRB members appreciated the active participation of local communities, their awareness and understanding of tsunami hazards, and their preparedness to respond to a tsunami emergency.
The Board also appreciated the systematic preparedness measures undertaken by OSDMA and the State’s efforts to translate scientific early-warning systems and disaster management protocols into effective preparedness mechanisms at the community level.
A meeting of the NTRB was held here on Monday at the Convention Centre under the chairmanship of Dr Balakrishnan Nair, Director, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), and Rajesh Prabhakar Patil, Managing Director, OSDMA.
The meeting reviewed the field verification carried out by the Board across coastal villages in the six coastal districts.
During the field assessment, the NTRB visited Nidhipada and Gudupahi in Baleshwar district; Muladihi, Bhatapada, Amarnagar and Nuagaon in Bhadrak; Sailendrasahi and Bhateni in Kendrapada; Motto and Singharpal in Puri; and New Kirtipur (1008), Laxmipur, Noliasahi and Ramtara in Jagatsinghpur.
The Board members interacted with local residents and reviewed their awareness, preparedness and response mechanisms for tsunami hazards.
The UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme is a community performance-based initiative aimed at promoting tsunami preparedness through collaboration among government authorities, scientific institutions, community leaders and emergency management agencies.
The programme seeks to build resilient communities capable of protecting lives, livelihoods and property through awareness, preparedness and timely response. It is currently being implemented in 22 countries in the Indian Ocean Region, including India.
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