During the one-hour discussion, representatives from tsunami-affected countries stressed the importance of early warning systems and evacuation procedures to save more lives from disasters but also emphasized the power of knowledge and education.

“Tsunamis do not happen frequently but it is better to be prepared and to have no regrets,” said Ambassador Koro Bessho, Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations which jointly organized the event with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the worst such event in living memory, caused an estimated 230,000 deaths and more than US$ 10 billion dollars in losses and acted as a wake-up call for many Asian countries which are today better prepared to anticipate a tsunami.

Mr. Willem Rampangilei, head of Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency, said: “After the 2004 tsunami, we enacted a new disaster management law, and we undertook a number of policies that have made us much safer. We believe that integrating disaster risk reduction principles in school curriculum and empowering local communities are key to making us more resilient.”

Mr. Ali Naseer Mohamed, Permanent Representative of Maldives to the United Nations in New York noted the unique geography of his country with more than 1,100 islands and atolls with many lying below one meter above average sea level.

He recalled that before 2004 Maldives had no idea that it could be hit by a tsunami or affected by an earthquake happening in Indonesia. “We have learned the lesson but as the highest place in our island is a coconut tree we have invested a lot in community education to make our islands safer,” he said.

This was a message reinforced by Ms. Shairi Mathur, UNDP Bangkok, who said that “ In Maldives, one school is one community. So when you invest in school drills you build the resilience of entire communities.” UNDP has just conducted more than 90 drills in 16 countries in Asia-Pacific as part of an ongoing programme.

Mr. Georgi Velikov Panayotov, Permanent Representative of Bulgaria to the United Nations in New York who was among the panelists, said that his country has never been hit by a tsunami but he still remembers the force of the water and the wave that hit him when he was on vacation in Thailand with his family in December 2004.