UNESCO presented its tsunami protection program in Cannes on Thursday, extending to the Mediterranean coast, where a tsunami is likely in the coming decades.
Twenty years after the tsunami that killed over 220,000 people in the Indian Ocean, UNESCO now has a network of over ten tsunami warning centers worldwide, including the Cenalt in the Paris region. « But an ideal warning is useless if people don’t know what to do, » explained Bernardo Aliaga, head of UNESCO’s tsunami program.
The majority of tsunamis recorded to date have affected coastal populations in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, which is why many overseas territories are being made aware of the risks.
However, mainland French populations do not have this awareness. In the French Riviera, local authorities are primarily focused on addressing the risks of rainfall flooding, which has been catastrophic in the recent past.
High Probability of a Tsunami in the Mediterranean in the Next Thirty Years
Nonetheless, a report that is already ten years old indicates a high probability of a tsunami in the Mediterranean within the next thirty years, similar to the tsunami that devastated coastal cities in the Strait of Messina in Italy in 1908.
It will not be a wall of water, but rather a very fast tide with currents so strong that 30 or 50 cm of water could be deadly. If the earthquake occurs offshore from Algeria, the wave will take about an hour to arrive, but if the quake occurs along the fault off the Ligurian coast, it will be less than ten minutes.
To prepare for this, the city of Cannes, a model example, has established a protocol to broadcast messages in French and English through its 383 loudspeakers upon receiving an alert from Cenalt, explained Yannick Ferrand, Director of Major Risks at the town hall.
Awareness efforts are being made in schools and among the elderly, and specific signage, including ground markers, has been installed in at-risk areas to indicate the nearest refuge, a place identified as safe due to its height or distance from the coast, such as the square in front of the train station.
These efforts have helped Cannes become the first city in France to be officially recognized as « Tsunami Ready » by UNESCO in January. Marseille and Nice are working on achieving this status as well.
Source: Maritima
