Tsunami Disaster Risk Management in Greece

摘要

Greece is vulnerable to tsunamis, due to the length of its coastline, its islands and its geographical proximity to the Hellenic Arc, an active subduction zone. Historically, about 10% of all world tsunamis have been reported to have occurred in the Mediterranean region, although this number is possibly an overestimation given that, other than Japan, the region has the most extensive historic written records worldwide. Here, we review existing tsunami disaster risk management capabilities in Greece. We analyze capabilities across the disaster management continuum, including disaster prevention, hazard mitigation and disaster preparedness. Specifically, we focus on regulatory requirements, stakeholders, hazard mitigation practices, emergency operations plans, public education and early-warning systems. Our research is based on a review of our earlier fieldwork on previous projects, as well as on interviews with civil protection officials in Greece, and findings from a large tsunami disaster exercise conducted in 2011, the first ever in the European Union.