Guterres, in a message marking the 2021 World Tsunami Awareness Day, called on all countries, international bodies and civil society to increase understanding of the deadly threat and share innovative approaches to reduce risks.

“We can build on progress achieved, ranging from better outreach to tsunami-exposed communities around the world, to the inclusion of a tsunami programme in the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development,” Guterres said.

The UN chief cautioned, however, that the risked “remain immense.”

“Rising sea levels caused by the climate emergency will further exacerbate the destructive power of tsunamis.

“We must limit warming to 1.5 degrees over pre-industrial averages and invest at scale in the resilience of coastal communities.”

The UN chief noted that rapid urbanisation and growing tourism in regions prone to tsunamis were also putting even more people in harm’s way.

“That is why the UN has chosen enhancing international cooperation for developing countries, as the theme of this year’s World Tsunami Awareness Day,” he said.

According to Guterres, science, international cooperation, preparedness and early action must be at the centre of all efforts to keep people and communities safer.

“Boosting support to developing countries and improving detection and early warning is critical. In the face of increasing complex global crises, we need to be better prepared,” he argued.

In 2021, World Tsunami Awareness Day is promoting the “Sendai Seven Campaign,” specifically the target that looks to enhance international cooperation to developing countries.

The secretary-general concludes his message with an appeal to deliver on the Sendai Framework and together build resilience against all disasters.

According to him, tsunamis are rare events but can be extremely deadly.

In the past 100 years, 58 of them have claimed more than 260,000 lives, or an average of 4,600 per disaster – more than any other natural hazard.

The highest number of deaths occurred in the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004 that caused an estimated 227,000 fatalities across 14 countries and in which Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand were the hardest hit.

Just three weeks after the disaster, the international community came together in Kobe, Japan and adopted the 10-year Hyogo Framework for Action, the first comprehensive global agreement on disaster risk reduction.

They also created the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System, which uses seismographic and sea-level monitoring stations to send alerts to national tsunami information centres.

After the Hyogo Framework for Action expired in 2014, the world adopted the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 to 2030, outlining seven clear targets and four priorities to prevent and reduce disaster risks.

Source: NAN

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The Security Council in a statement, welcomed the announcement of the ceasefire and mourned the loss of civilian lives resulting from the violence.

The council gave recognition to the diplomatic mediation efforts by Egypt and other countries in the Africa region, the UN, the Middle East Quartet, and other international partners.

It also stressed the immediate need for humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian civilian population, particularly in Gaza.

“The Council offered support to Secretary-General, António Guterres’ call for the international community to work with UN on developing an integrated, robust package of support for a swift, sustainable reconstruction and recovery.

“The members of the Security Council stress the urgency of the restoration of calm in full.

“It reiterated the importance of achieving a comprehensive peace based on the vision of a region where two democratic states – Israel and Palestine – live side by side in peace with secure and recognised borders,’’ it stated.

According to figures released by the UN humanitarian coordination office, OCHA, for the Occupied Palestinian Territory and verified by the UN human rights office (OHCHR), 242 Palestinians have been killed since May, 10.

“At least 230 of the dead were seemingly killed by Israeli forces, although OCHA reported that some of the Palestinian casualties in Gaza may have resulted from rockets from their own side, falling short,” it added.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza, reported that 1,948 Palestinians had been injured, including 610 children and nearly 400 women.

According to Israeli sources, OCHA reported that 12 Israelis had been killed by Palestinian rocket, or other fire, or when running for shelter during strikes with around 710 injured.

Source: NAN

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Guterres told Member States on Tuesday that the organisation “runs the risk of depleting its liquidity reserves by the end of the month and defaulting on payments to staff and vendors.”

He said only 70 per cent of the total budget assessment for 2019, amounting to 1.99 billion dollars, had been paid as at the end of September, leaving a balance of 1.3 billion dollars.

The current figure, according to him, is eight per cent lower than the 78 per cent payment recorded in the same period in 2018.

“Unless more Governments pay their annual dues, our work and our reforms are at risk”, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric quoted him as telling the budget-setting Fifth Committee of the General Assembly.

Dujarric told UN correspondents in New York that although 129 out of the 193 Member States had now paid their regular annual dues, others needed to pay “urgently and in full”.

“This is the only way to avoid a default that could risk disrupting operations globally.

“The Secretary-General further asked governments to address the underlying reasons for the crisis and agree on measures to put the United Nations on a sound financial footing,’’ he added.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the United States is missing on the list of Member States that have paid their regular budget assessments as published on the UN website.

Earlier in the year, President Donald Trump reportedly said the U.S. was bearing an “unfair burden” of the cost of the UN, and called on the organisation to reform its operations.

Guterres said on Tuesday that the financial shortage in October could have reached 600 million dollars had the organisation not “contained expenditures globally from the beginning of the year”.

He said the cost-saving measures enabled the UN to fund the General Assembly debate and the high-level meetings in September.

“To date, we have averted major disruptions to operations, but these measures are no longer enough.

“The Secretariat could face a default on salaries and payments for goods and services by the end of November unless more Member States pay their budget dues in full.”

The Secretary-General noted that that was a recurrent problem that severely hampered the Secretariat’s ability to fulfill its obligations to the people served.

“We are now driven to prioritise our work on the basis of the availability of cash, thus undermining the implementation of mandates decided by inter-governmental bodies,’’ Dujarric said.

He said the UN chief expected Member States to resolve the structural issues responsible for the annual financial crisis without further delay.

Meanwhile, the Secretary-General has presented a 2.94 billion dollars budget proposal for 2020, same as the 2019 estimates.

Guterres said the plan represented a “profound reflection on the path ahead and deep commitment to our shared work,” according to the spokesman.

The UN chief said budget implementation was no longer being driven by planning, but according to “the availability of cash at hand.”

With hiring and non-salary expenditure limited by liquidity, “this undermines mandate delivery and goes against our efforts to focus less on inputs and more on results,” he added.

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