A two-minute silence will be observed island-wide today, 26 December, on National Safety Day from 9:25 a.m. to 9:27 a.m. to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. The solemn tribute aims to honor the lives lost in the devastating tsunami and other natural disasters in Sri Lanka, the Disaster Management Center (DMC) said.
Accordingly, the DMC has introduced a new awareness program to educate the public about tsunami dangers, beginning on National Safety Day. Major General (Retd) Sudantha Ranasinghe, the Director General of the Disaster Management Centre, revealed that the awareness initiative will utilize a caller tune ringtone for mobile phones.
The 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, triggered by a powerful undersea megathrust earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1 off the coast of Sumatra Island, Indonesia, remains one of the deadliest and most destructive natural disasters in history. This catastrophic event profoundly affected over 10 countries in the Indian Ocean.
As a mark of respect and remembrance, the two-minute silence will be observed throughout the island from 9:25 a.m. to 9:27 a.m. on National Safety Day, paying tribute to the victims of the 2004 tsunami and other natural disasters in Sri Lanka.
