Colombo, LK -- (ReleaseWire) -- 12/30/2014 --Featured News Article on the First Decade Anniversary of Asian Tsunami.

Colombo, Sri Lanka//Special Correspondent Asia--/12/26/2014//

Catastrophes and disasters can occur anywhere, anytime, at any location, to any society. Asian Tsunami-2004 is considered to be the devastating most disaster of the last millennium's recorded history. Tsunami-2004 devastated almost 9 major oceanic sectors of Asia, leaving over 5 million people as homeless, hundreds of thousands as displaced, and a toll rate exceeding 2,97,000.

The devastative consequences of such ostentatious cataclysms pose detrimental damages to the global communities, their infrastructures and in their overall socio-economic set-ups.

As, Dec. 26, 2014, categorically marks the 2004-AsianTsunami's 1st decade's termination-finale, along with an adjacent compliance-amenability to the conclusive year for the UN's 'Step-up Initiative', as well as the second-last round up for Hyogo Framework of Action (HFA), the observance got an extraordinary extended considerateness.

"Survivors of Asia's 2004 tsunami and relatives of its 226,000 victims gather along shorelines of the Indian Ocean on Dec. 26, for memorial services to mark the 10th anniversary of a disaster that still leaves an indelible mark on the region.

When a 9.15-magnitude quake opened a faultline deep beneath the ocean a decade ago on Dec. 26, it triggered a wave as high as 17.4 meters which crashed ashore in more than a dozen countries, wiping some communities off the map in seconds.

In some places, survivors have still not recovered their lives fully, complaining of shoddy and uneven reconstruction. In Indonesia's Aceh province, where 168,000 people were killed, the tsunami helped end a long-running separatist conflict", expresses a report published by Reuters, on the 1st decade anniversary of Tsunami 2004.

According to the same report by Reuters:
Sri Lanka has preset a symbolic ride of a train, the Tsunami had derailed, killing 1,270 passengers. The train was powered by the same locomotive and feature five of the original carriages.

Commemoration ceremonies were held in Ban Nam Khem, a southern fishing village destroyed by the wave, where almost 3,000 people remain missing. Eighty percent of the victims in Thailand were killed in the province of Phang Nga where experts from 39 nations quickly gathered to identify bodies in what became the world's biggest international forensics investigation.

Tsunami escape drills were held to demonstrate readiness of a large fishing community in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where 6,000 people were killed.

Millions in coastal areas are still vulnerable to catastrophes like Tsunami, say experts.

And according to a press release by UNISDR, a ten days confluence titled 'Decade Summit of Asian Tsunami' has been piloted in Sri Lanka, to mark the Tsunami's 1st decade anniversary, under the aegis of UN.

The Decade Summit of Asian Tsunami is intended to switch on and amplify the critical issues of the UN's DRR-HFA for the post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction (DRR).

Following the record tweeting-i.e. over 4.3 million tweets, that were propelled up and sent to UTC on IDDR-2014, the Tsunami Decade Summit, also put high emphasis on age inclusive DRR frameworkings.

Besides the utmost wreckage-desolations, that quite austerely devastated and shattered almost 9 main oceanic sectors of Asia, including the hard-hit coastal zones of Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India and Sumatra, and its unprecedented scale of destruction, Tsunami-2004 brought forth a way to measure the 'real impact factor' in terms of the actual 'on-ground renderings' conceded thereupon.

"As a testament of the meritorious renderings that made some 'difference' through the meritorious renderings, in the hard test of human solidarity---the aftermaths of Asian Tsunami-2004—the highest-observed devastating catastrophe of the recorded history of last millennium's natural cataclysms, states in a reference-passage, the official citation of the Tsunami Decade Summit's DRR-HFA reckoning verdict 2014, "The highest impact factor (IF), particularly in DRR perspectives, is the actual 'On-ground IF' of the 'Humanitarian et Meritorious' renderings---which do speak for themselves and, deservedly worth to be solidified in history archives' testimonials for the centuries and generations to come".

In order to typify the 'difference' introduced thereupon, an opinion poll was customizedly commissioned during 2005-2006 in Tsunami's hard-hit areas,-- to have the Tsunami refugees and affectees, their own say for-- 'who did what for them'--- that brought some meant-content for them in the aftermaths of the crucial most catastrophe.

The outcome of 'Tsunami Opinion Polls', coupled with inter-institutional and academic consensus, evoked the unanimity in lieu of a historic resolution for instituting a multiversity medal named as KASTAH, that was renamed as KAKHTAH, for the same 2006's upshot. The scholarship is named after two persona entities and two organizational bodies, that became responsible for bringing forth the real 'difference' through their meritorious renderings,during the hard test of human solidarity. "The Tsunami Decade's Summit 2014, hereby adopts the resolution and retrospectively acclaims, under the UN resolutions and conventions entailing the DRR/HFA, for instituting a multiversity 'KAKHTAH' scholarship for outstanding doctoral and post-doctoral research studies on DRR", states the Tsunami Decade Summit's HFA-DRR 2014's verdict.

The new-fangled scholarship KAKHTAH is proclaimed to be bestowed onto an entire-some accretion of over 1900 global academic ivories. The medal escorted with a 2.7 Million GBP scholarship, would be bequeathed on a biennial basis, for estimable post-doctoral research works of deservingly significant virtues, in the areas of disaster management, catastrophic policy lay-outs, cataclysmic forecasting and calamity prevention methodologies.

The seven members conferring jury for KAKHTAH scholarship, that includes national and regional academic celebrities, is chaired by Justice(R) S.S. Paru, L.L.D., D.Litt., from Indonesia. Sri Lanka's ombudsman Dr. Wickrema Weerasooria, who had been Sri Lankan High Commissioner in New Zealand and Australia, and has served federal and state ministries in various capacities for over fifteen years, has been designated for serving as the senior assessor of jury. Dr. Faisar N.M., Dr. E.M. Navaratne and Dr. Alex Jayawardene are also adherent-members. The jury is mandated to take all noteworthy research works of relevance into deliberations on a biennium basis, in order to subjugate the scholarship worthiness of the research.

The resolution also acclaims to establish a KAKHTAH Post-doc Multiversity in SAARC region for DRR and HFA studies.

A selection slate was made with a view to reckon-surmise the real 'on-ground impact factor' of different institutional entities, relief projects and individuals with reference to the UN-HFA and DRR perspectives. The selection slate draped a summing-up of 17 out-scored projects and 21 organizations. Amongst them are, the Oxfam, Save the Children, SOS, Rotary International, MAVSO Intl, English Biscuits Manufacturers Peak Freans Ltd. of Pakistan, Shadow Intl., and some regional and local organizations. A scroll of gratitude accompanied by the 'Tsunami's Un-sung Hero Award', escorted with a sum of 7,50,000 LKR, has been bestowed on a Sri Lankan young philanthropic-striper, MSS Salawal Salah, who volunteered in the hardest hit areas of distts. Galle, Hambantota, Kalmonai.

Mr. Salah 33, who stepped up to the portico-facade of one of the toughest tests of human solidarity, is a practitioner of alternative medicines and a licentiate complementary therapist from Colombo South Government General University and Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka. Another laurel of distinction 'Tsunami's Dame of Merit' has been bequeathed on Dr. Bareera B. N., a Pakistani anthropologist, who rendered her services for Tsunami affected women, and came forward to accomplish EBM's mission of food-supplments provisions in Tsunami refugees' camps to address the mal-nutrition in babies as well as women. She presently serves as the SAARC inscribed ombuds-person for ethno-centric and gender-centric concerns.

Special annotation notes of thanks have been made to the Government of Sri Lanka, for the approval of conceding a three-days KAKHTAH-Tsunami postal stamp, and establishing a KAKHTAH Tsunami Forecasting Centre, in the names of benevolent stalwarts.

Famous River Kawai's bridge has been renamed as 'KAKHTAH-Tsunami Bridge' to mark the 1st decade anniversary of the Asian Tsunami-2004.

According to the afore-cited Reuters' report, "the past decade has seen more than $400 million spent across 28 countries on an early-warning system comprising 101 sea level gauges, 148 seismometers and nine buoys, but there are still concerns about the region's preparedness for another tsunami.

Sirens were silent when a tsunami alert was issued in Indonesia after a 8.6-magnitude quake in 2012, and all of the warning buoys are either missing or not working.

In India, a new system is struggling to communicate with remote areas and the head of Thailand's disaster warning center says its advanced and regularly tested system lacks maintenance".

About the Decade Summit of Asian Tsunami
The 'Decade Summit of Asian Tsunami' is scheduled to end up by the concluding term of UNESCO-SAARC DRR convergence, consisting of 23 formal academic sessions, over 67 workshops and 49 high-level round the table panel discussions. The summit is expected to embrace more than 1000 policy papers on disasters management policy frameworks. The research précis of policy frameworks are primed for UN agencies related to the DRR/ HFA and other segments of relevance.