Odisha declares 100 coastal villages Tsunami-Ready

Odisha has reached a milestone in disaster preparedness, with 100 coastal villages now officially declared ‘Tsunami-Ready’ under the UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme. This achievement follows the addition of 75 villages this year, moving the state closer to its objective of preparing all 381 tsunami-prone coastal villages and habitations.

The programme is a community performance-based initiative that fosters collaboration between government authorities, scientific institutions, community leaders, and emergency management agencies. It is currently being implemented in 22 countries across the Indian Ocean region.

Following field verifications conducted by the National Tsunami Ready Board (NTRB) in several districts—including Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Puri, and Jagatsinghpur—officials reviewed community awareness and response mechanisms. The Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) continues to expand the programme across six coastal districts to build more resilient communities through scientific early-warning systems and community-level preparedness.