Message on World Tsunami Awareness Day
世界海啸意识日致辞
5 November 2019
2019年11月5日
This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Indian Ocean Tsunami, when 230,000 lives were tragically lost in 14 countries. Since then, we 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.
今年是印度洋海啸15周年,14个国家的23万人在这场海啸中不幸丧生。从那以后,太平洋、印度洋、加勒比、东北大西洋、地中海和其他海域的预警系统都得到了大幅改进。数百万条生命由此获得拯救。
However, it is clear from the growing economic losses over the last twenty years that we 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.
然而,从过去二十年来不断增加的经济损失中可以明确看出,我们尚未充分认识到防灾关键基础设施的重要性。这些设施对于避免在海啸、地震和极端天气事件期间可能发生的重要公共服务中断至关重要。
The risks remain immense. An estimated 680 million people live in low-lying coastal zones; by 2050, this number might surpass 1 billion. At the same time, rising sea levels caused by the climate emergency may further exacerbate the destructive power of tsunamis.
风险依然巨大。估计有6.8亿人生活在低洼沿海地区;到2050年,这一数字可能突破10亿。同时,由气候紧急情况引起的海平面上升可能进一步加剧海啸的破坏力。
Risk reduction will be crucial to our efforts to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals. On World Tsunami Awareness Day, I encourage governments, local authorities and the construction industry to pursue risk-informed development and invest in resilience.
降低风险将在我们实现可持续发展目标的努力中发挥关键作用。值此世界海啸意识日,我鼓励各国政府、地方当局和建筑业在了解风险的基础上寻求发展,并投资于提升抗灾能力。