The recognition reflects the Metropolitan Area’s commitment to protecting residents and visitors from tsunami hazards through comprehensive risk awareness, preparedness, and evacuation planning.
While often associated with distant oceans, tsunamis are a very real risk in the Mediterranean, underscoring the urgent need for preparedness and risk reduction measures along the region’s densely populated coastlines. One example is the Aegean Sea tsunami of 30 October 2020, which was triggered by a strong normal-faulting earthquake that struck Samos Island in Greece and İzmir Province in Türkiye, both located in the eastern Aegean Sea. The earthquake generated a tsunami that impacted the coastlines of Samos Island and İzmir, causing significant damage and disruption.
“Obtaining UNESCO’s “Tsunami Ready” recognition is an important milestone for us. Although the risk of a tsunami remains relatively low, its consequences can be particularly severe. It is therefore essential to anticipate such events and prepare the population so that everyone knows how to respond in the event of an alert.” – Olivier RIQUIER, Deputy Mayor of the City of Nice.
To address this challenge, the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolitan Area launched an ambitious effort to achieve Tsunami Ready recognition. The result is a landmark achievement: the first metropolitan-scale implementation of the IOC Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme in France and one of the largest coordinated recognitions in the North-Eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean and Connected Seas (NEAM) region.
“Faced with phenomena that are sometimes little known to the general public, yet whose reality is well established, our collective responsibility is to advance knowledge, prevention, and preparedness.” – Jean-Pierre PAUSELLI, Deputy Mayor for Security, City of Saint-Laurent-du-Var.
The process brought together six coastal municipalities of the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis – Nice, Cagnes-sur-Mer, Saint-Laurent-du-Var, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Beaulieu-sur-Mer and Èze. Among them, Nice is the fifth most populated city in France and one of the country’s leading tourist destinations, making this recognition especially significant from a public safety perspective.
Unlike most Tsunami Ready recognitions, which are typically achieved municipality by municipality, the Nice Côte d’Azur initiative was built around a shared metropolitan strategy. This required extensive coordination between municipal authorities, metropolitan services, state authorities, scientists and emergency management stakeholders.
“Built on strong inter-municipal coordination and shared political commitment, this achievement demonstrates that tsunami preparedness can be successfully scaled beyond individual municipalities to larger coastal territories.” – Matthieu Péroche, Université of Montpellier Paul-Valéry.
A key component of the initiative has been the installation of nearly 800 tsunami information and evacuation signs across coastal areas, including 399 in Nice. This is designed to ensure that residents and the millions of visitors who come to the French Riviera each year can rapidly identify evacuation routes and move to safety in the event of a tsunami.
The project demonstrates that the Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme can be successfully scaled from individual municipalities to larger metropolitan territories when strong political commitment and inter-municipal cooperation are in place, a transferable lesson for many large coastal agglomerations in the NEAM region.
The achievement was celebrated during an official ceremony attended by Olivier Riquier, Deputy Mayor of Nice in charge of Local Services, Civil Security and Civic Engagement, alongside Derya Vennin, representative of IOC, local authorities, civil protection agencies, and academic partners.
“Nice Côte d’Azur has demonstrated how science, local leadership, and community engagement can come together to strengthen tsunami preparedness and save lives. Congratulations to all partners involved in this important achievement. We are proud to support this effort through the EU DG ECHO funded CoastWAVE 2.0 project.” – Derya Vennin, Associate Project Officer of IOC.
This achievement was made possible through the support of the CoastWAVE 2.0 project funded by the European Commission Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) and implemented by IOC of UNESCO, the EVACTSU Nice project funded by the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis, and the co-funding provided by the Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier.
“The Tsunami Ready recognition of MNCA highlights the successful contribution of various stakeholders to implement tsunami preparedness at different levels and reflects a shared commitment to preparing for unexpected disasters.” – Hélène Hébert, CEA DAM/DIF/DASE.
The ceremony was followed by the Science Day on 3 June 2026, organized by the City of Nice and dedicated to raising awareness among young people about tsunami hazards and preparedness measures. The event aimed to strengthen youth engagement and build the next generation of tsunami-resilient communities.
The recognition further strengthens France’s leadership in tsunami preparedness in the NEAM region. In 2024, Cannes became the first municipality in mainland France to receive Tsunami Ready recognition. Combined with the previous recognition of Deshaies in Guadeloupe in 2023, France now has Tsunami Ready recognized communities in two distinct ocean basins: the Caribbean and the North-East Atlantic and Mediterranean region.
With the recognition of the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolitan Area, France continues to advance the implementation of the IOC Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme in the Mediterranean and wider NEAM region. Coming one year after Nice hosted the United Nations Ocean Conference, this achievement demonstrates how international commitments can be translated into concrete local action, enhancing public safety, strengthening preparedness, and building resilient coastal communities for future generations.
READ MORE: https://www.ioc.unesco.org/en/articles/nice-cote-dazur-metropolitan-area-receives-tsunami-ready-recognition
