UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has encouraged governments, local authorities and the construction industry to pursue risk-informed development and invest in resilience saying risk reduction will be “crucial” to their efforts to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“The risks remain immense,” he said in a message marking the World Tsunami Awareness Day that falls on November 5.

The UN chief said an estimated 680 million people live in low-lying coastal zones; by 2050, this number might surpass 1 billion.

At the same time, he said, rising sea levels caused by the climate emergency may further exacerbate the destructive power of tsunamis.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Indian Ocean Tsunami, when 230,000 lives were tragically lost in 14 countries.

Since then, the UN chief said, they have seen great improvement in early warning systems, not only for the Pacific Ocean but also for the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean, the North East Atlantic, the Mediterranean and others. “As a result, many lives have been saved.”

However, Guterres said, it is clear from the growing economic losses over the last twenty years that they have not yet fully learned the importance of disaster-proofing critical infrastructure.

“This is essential to avoid the disruption to important public services that can occur during tsunamis, earthquakes and extreme weather events,” he said.