The first Tsunami Ready community in Greece: Samos town (Samos island, Northern Aegean Sea)

On 30 October 2020, the island of Samos (Greece) and the region of Izmir (Türkiye) were hit by a powerful earthquake followed by a tsunami that spread across the Aegean Sea. The magnitude M7.0 earthquake caused severe damage and more than 100 deaths in both countries, including one death in Türkiye due to the tsunami. This disaster was yet another reminder of the Mediterranean region's vulnerability to seismic and tsunami hazards. It highlighted the critical significance of prevention and preparedness in mitigating the impacts of natural hazards. 

Following this disaster, the first Greek community was recognised as Tsunami Ready alongside the efforts of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (UNESCO-IOC) to reinforce the resilience of coastal communities in the Northeast Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Connected Seas (NEAM) region and around the globe. The Tsunami Ready recognition of the town of Samos was achieved through the CoastWAVE Project, coordinated by UNESCO-IOC and funded by DG-ECHO of the European Commission to enhance the resilience of NEAM coastal communities to tsunamis and other sea-related hazards. Aligned with the goals that UNESCO-IOC has set through the Ocean Decade Program, the project focused on piloting the Tsunami Ready Recognition Program (TRRP) standards and guidelines. As a result of the project,  selected communities, including the town of Samos, gained more awareness of tsunami risks, improved tsunami risk governance, and were recognized as Tsunami Ready. 

In the case of Greece, key project tasks involved tsunami awareness activities, establishing a National Tsunami Ready Board, hazard and evacuation mapping, developing local protocols and Standard Operational Procedures, and testing them through a local exercise involving stakeholders at local, national, and international levels. The strong collaboration between tsunami experts, local authorities, emergency management agencies, and other stakeholders, coordinated by the National Observatory of Athens and the Municipality of Eastern Samos, proved to be the cornerstone of success. The strategic alliance between science and emergency management brought about more comprehensive preparedness and risk reduction efforts and underlined the importance of knowledge-sharing. 

The town of Samos managed to fulfill all the UNESCO-IOC TRRP criteria to become Tsunami Ready,  however, this was only the first step.  To maintain the resilience gained in the process of becoming Tsunami Ready, Samos needs to keep fulfilling the indicators of the TRRP to remain prepared and ready to respond against the threat of tsunamis. To this end, the continuous commitment of local and national stakeholders is essential in building a more resilient future against tsunamis and other natural hazards in the NEAM region. Education, preparedness, and community involvement are some of the key elements that can be exploited to enhance safety and reduce risks associated with tsunami events.

We will present the approaches followed and the activities undertaken to fulfill the Tsunami-Ready indicators in the town of Samos, along with the specificities and challenges faced in this first TRRP implementation in Greece.