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India would soon have over 100 tsunami-ready villages among the Indian Ocean region. India will be the first country with as many villages in this region with this distinction.
Tsunami-ready village is certified to the ones that have high awareness about tsunami, hazard preparedness and mapping, public display of evacuation maps, 24-hour warning systems, participation in mock drills among others. The certification is awarded by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).
Tsunami-ready is a voluntary community-based programme that facilitates tsunami preparedness by actively collaborating with the public, community leaders, local and national emergency management agencies.
In addition to the existing 24 coastal villages across six districts with this certification, Odisha is set to add 72 more villages to this list. States and UTs like Gujarat, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar islands have also identified some villages. By March or April 2026, Kerala has proposed nine coastal villages for this initiative.
“This is a community-driven initiative. States and UT governments need to be proactive in identifying the vulnerable communities and areas, which not only benefits in tsunami preparedness but in cyclones and similar hazards too,” Balakrishnan Nair, director, Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad, said.
INCOIS operates the Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) which tracks earthquakes globally, and issues tsunami warnings for the Indian Ocean region. It is the coordinating institute for implementing UNESCO-IOC ‘Tsunami Ready’ initiative.
The institute had initiated activities to extend UNESCO-IOC ‘tsunami ready’ programme in all coastal states and UTs on a pilot scale.
