Sri Lanka today (26) observed the 21st anniversary of the devastating 2004 tsunami, with commemorations held across the country to remember those who lost their lives in the tragedy and other disasters.

Accordingly, commemorating National Safety Day, a remembrance programme for those who died in the 2004 tsunami was held this morning (26) in front of the Peraliya Tsunami Memorial in Galle.

From 9.25 am to 9.27 am, a two‑minute silence was observed in memory of those who lost their lives in the tsunami, while officials arriving by train and local residents laid flowers in tribute.

Afterwards, multi‑religious observances were conducted in remembrance of those who perished in the tsunami disaster.

The event was attended by Deputy Minister Nalin Hewage, Deputy Minister Rathna Gamage, Members of Parliament Dr. Nishantha Samaraweera and T.K. Jayasundara, Galle District Secretary W.A. Dharmasiri, Provincial Chief Secretary Chandima C. Muhandiram, Galle District Disaster Management Director Major General Sampath Kotuwegoda, senior police and security officials of Galle, the Additional District Secretary, Divisional Secretaries, local residents, as well as a number of foreign visitors.

The programme was organized by the Galle District Disaster Management Centre. (Newswire)

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The Disaster Management Centre (CMC) says inter‑religious programmes are planned to be held at the district level for this year’s “National Safety Day” programme, considering the situation in Sri Lanka due to Cyclone Ditwah.

Issuing a statement, the DMC said that the main commemoration ceremony of “National Safety Day” will be held on December 26, 2025, from 8.30 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. at the Peraliya Tsunami Memorial in Galle.

On “National Safety Day,” to remember those who died in the tsunami and other disasters, a two‑minute silence will be observed across the island from 9.25 a.m. to 9.27 a.m. 

The public is requested to observe two minutes of silence nationwide on December 26, 2025, from 9.25 a.m. to 9.27 a.m., in memory of those who lost their lives in the tsunami and various disasters.

In the 2004 tsunami disaster, more than 35,000 people in Sri Lanka lost their lives, while over 5,000 individuals went missing, and property worth billions was also destroyed. December 26 has been declared “National Safety Day” each year since 2005, with the nation commemorating all those who died in the tsunami and other disasters, with public participation. (Newswire)

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The Indian Ocean Tsunami Exercise (IOWAVE25) was successfully held in Sri Lanka today, in line with the World Tsunami Awareness Day.

The exercise, conducted as a regional programme across coastal districts including Batticaloa, Jaffna, Galle, and Kalutara, aimed to train officials on standard operating procedures (SOPs) during a simulated tsunami generated by a forecasted earthquake.

It also tested and strengthened the national tsunami early warning and communication systems, validated SOPs, and enhanced preparedness among local communities and first responders. (Newswire)

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An Indian Ocean tsunami preparedness exercise is scheduled to be conducted tomorrow across five selected locations in Sri Lanka, in line with World Tsunami Awareness Day.

The Disaster Management Centre has requested the public not to panic or misinterpret the drill as an actual tsunami threat.

This exercise, conducted under official UNESCO guidelines, will involve five Grama Niladhari divisions selected from the districts of Batticaloa, Jaffna, Galle, and Kalutara.

According to the Disaster Management Centre, the main national drill will commence at 8:30 am in the Kalutara district. (Newswire)

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One of the world’s strongest earthquakes struck Russia’s Far East early Wednesday, an 8.8-magnitude temblor that caused tsunami waves in Japan and Alaska and prompted warnings for Hawaii, North and Central America and Pacific islands south toward New Zealand.

Ports on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia near the quake’s epicenter flooded as residents fled inland, and frothy, white waves washed up to the shore in northern Japan. Cars jammed streets and highways in Honolulu, with standstill traffic even in areas away from the shoreline.

People were advised to move to higher ground around much of the Pacific and warned that the potential danger may last for more than a day. Most places where tsunami waves have already washed ashore have reported no significant damage so far.

A tsunami height of 3-4 meters (10 to 13 feet) was recorded in Kamchatka, 60 centimeters (2 feet) on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, and up to 1.4 feet (under 30 centimeters) above tide levels were observed in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

CNN reports that tsunami waves have started to hit U.S. shores. Initial waves have reached Hawaii’s coastlines, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. CNN reported that the NOAA shows water levels were recorded above 4 feet in Haleiwa, on the north shore of Hawaii’s Oahu island.

The impact of the tsunami could last for hours or perhaps more than a day, said Dave Snider, tsunami warning coordinator with the National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska

“A tsunami is not just one wave,” he said. “It’s a series of powerful waves over a long period of time. Tsunamis cross the ocean at hundreds of miles an hour — as fast as a jet airplane — in deep water. But when they get close to the shore, they slow down and start to pile up. And that’s where that inundation problem becomes a little bit more possible there.”

“In this case, because of the Earth basically sending out these huge ripples of water across the ocean, they’re going to be moving back and forth for quite a while,” which is why some communities may feel effects longer, he said.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said data from Midway Atoll, which is between Japan and Hawaii, measured waves from peak to trough of 6 feet (1.8 meters). He said waves hitting Hawaii could be bigger or smaller and it was too early to tell how large they would be. A tsunami of that size would be akin to a 3 foot (90 centimeter) wave riding on top of surf, he said.

“This is a longitudinal wave with great force driving through the shoreline and into land,” he said at a news conference.

Green said Black Hawk helicopters have been activated and high-water vehicles were ready to go in case authorities need to rescue people. “But please do not put yourself in harm’s way,” he said.

The Oregon Department of Emergency Management said on Facebook that small tsunami waves were expected along the coast starting around 11:40 p.m. local time, with wave heights between 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters). It urged people to stay away from beaches, harbors and marinas and to remain in a safe location away from the coast until the advisory is lifted.

“This is not a major tsunami, but dangerous currents and strong waves may pose a risk to those near the water,” the department said.

Much of the West Coast spanning Canada’s British Columbia province, Washington state and California were also under a tsunami advisory.

A tsunami of less than 30 centimeters (under 1 foot) was forecast to hit parts of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The province’s emergency preparedness agency said waves were expected to reach remote Langara Island around 10:05 p.m. Tuesday and Tofino around 11:30 p.m. The agency said “multiple waves over time” were expected.

The quake at 8:25 a.m. Japan time had a preliminary magnitude of 8.0, Japan and U.S. seismologists said. The U.S. Geological Survey later updated its strength to 8.8 magnitude and the USGS said the quake occurred at a depth of 20.7 kilometers (13 miles).

The quake was centered about 119 kilometers (74 miles) east-southeast from the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which has a population of 180,000, on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Multiple aftershocks as strong as 6.9 magnitude followed.

The first tsunami wave hit the coastal area of Severo-Kurilsk, the main settlement on Russia’s Kuril Islands in the Pacific, according to the local governor Valery Limarenko. He said residents were safe and staying on high ground until the threat of a repeat wave was gone.

About 2,700 people were evacuated to safe locations on the Kuril Islands. Buildings were damaged and cars swayed in the streets in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Russian news agencies quoting the regional Health Ministry saying several people sought medical help in Kamchatka after the earthquake, but no serious injuries were reported.

The earthquake appeared to be the strongest anywhere in the world since the 9.0 magnitude earthquake off northeastern Japan in March 2011 that caused a massive tsunami that set off meltdowns at a nuclear power plant. Only a few stronger earthquakes have ever been measured around the world.

The tsunami alert disrupted transportation in Japan, with ferries, trains and airports in the affected area suspending or delaying some operations.

A tsunami of 60 centimeters (2 feet) was recorded at Hamanaka town in Hokkaido and Kuji port in Iwate, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Several areas reported smaller waves including 20 centimeters (8 inches) in Tokyo Bay five hours after the quake.

In Japan’s northern coastal town of Matsushima, dozens of residents took refuge at an evacuation center, where water bottles were distributed and an air conditioner was running. One person told NHK she came to the facility without hesitation based on the lesson from the 2011 tsunami.

Japanese nuclear power plants reported no abnormalities. The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant damaged by the 2011 tsunami said about 4,000 workers are taking shelter on higher ground at the plant complex while monitoring remotely to ensure plant safety.

Philippine authorities advised people to stay away from the beach and coastal areas. “It may not be the largest of waves, but these can continue for hours and expose people swimming in the waters to danger,” Teresito Bacolcol of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology told The Associated Press.

Mexico’s navy warned that tsunami waves will start reaching the northern coast in Ensenada, near California, at around 02:22 a.m. Wednesday local time, and waves could progress along the Pacific coast to Chiapas state, around 07:15 a.m. local time.

New Zealand authorities warned of “strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges” along all coastlines of the South Pacific island nation. The emergency management agency said people should move out of the water, off beaches and away from harbors, marinas, rivers and estuaries.

The quake was the strongest to hit this area on the Kamchatka Peninsula since 1952, according to the local branch of the Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The 9.0 quake on Nov. 4, 1952, in Kamchatka caused damage but no reported deaths despite setting off 9.1-meter (30-foot) waves in Hawaii.

They said that while the situation “was under control” there was a risk of aftershocks, which could last for up to a month and warned against visiting certain coastal areas. (AP/ CNN)

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Sri Lanka marked National Safety Day today by commemorating all those who lost their lives in various disasters in the country, including the 2004 Tsunami.

According to the Disaster Management Centre, a two-minute silence was observed islandwide for this purpose.

The DMC added that the two-minute silence was observed from 09.25 am to 09.27 am. (Newswire)

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Body parts of 137 unidentified individuals who died in the Tsunami disaster remain at the Forensic Medicine Department of the Faculty of Medicine in Karapitiya, Galle, it was reported. 

According to the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO), Professor U.C.P. Perera, the identities of the said individuals remain unconfirmed, while the bone fragments from these bodies will be utilised for research and studies.

Prof. Perera revealed that the body parts were found in mangroves and swamps in Thelwatta and Peraliya during the nine months after the Tsunami disaster.

Stating that soon after the Tsunami disaster, bodies were displayed at the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital for identification by relatives of the deceased, he added that, however, no one was able to confirm the identity of body parts. (NewsWire)

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A death row prisoner who had escaped during the 2004 Tsunami has been apprehended after a period of 19 years. 

The Police stated the suspect along with his brother had been arrested over a murder committed in the Ragama area in 2001. 

The man who was remanded had escaped while being transported from the Negombo Prison to another prison during the Tsunami disaster in 2004.

The case which was conducted without the suspect, saw the suspect’s brother being released in May 2012, while the court sentenced to death the missing suspect.

However, the suspect, now 54 years old, was arrested at Ragama Town by the Police last night (14). 

The Police stated that the suspect will be produced before the Welisara Magistrate’s Court today. (NewsWire)

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There is no tsunami threat to New Zealand after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in the Kermadec Islands this afternoon according to the National Emergency Management Agency.

According to 1 News NZ, the quake struck the island group just before 2.00 pm today at a depth of 22 kilometres.

USGS has the earthquake measured as being 7.0 in magnitude, with the US tsunami advisory originally posting a provisional tsunami threat for islands in the area shortly after the earthquake.

This has since been cancelled.

The earthquake struck 1075km northeast of Whakatane, according to GeoNet. (NewsWire)

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