Around 81 percent or 66 of the 81 provinces in the country are exposed to tsunamis, according to a United Nations study.

The UN study warned that in 2030, half of the world's population will be living in coastal communities.

"The people will be exposed to tsunamis, storm surges, and flooding," the UN study said. "It covers 832 coastal municipalities and 25 coastal cities or 62 percent of the Philippine population are in coastal municipalities and cities."

The Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology called for an urgent need to ensure that disaster preparedness systems are in place.

"We call for everyone's full cooperation and commitment in participating and taking seriously all programs, initiatives, and plans of the government and agencies like us to prepare every Filipino, especially from vulnerable communities, to minimize; if not eliminate the casualties if a tsunami happens in our lifetime," said Teresito Bacolcol, DoST-Phivolcs officer-in-charge, on the occasion of World Tsunami Awareness Day.

The activity served as one of the great avenues to define commonly used tsunami terms and concepts and orient the public and other key stakeholders on Tsunami Philippine information and proper response procedures.

Basically, it aims to ensure the accuracy and consistency of the messages being relayed to the public.

Joan Salcedo, supervising science research specialist from DoST-Phivolcs, said: "tsunami hazards can result in disaster losses. However, we can reduce disaster risks. Information, tools, systems, and plans are available for communities to be safer. So, let's help us to build a tsunami-ready Philippines."

She added that DoST-Phivolcs has been providing services to various tsunami-prone areas.

"It includes monitoring and cascading relevant information and warnings down to the barangays and local communities in various platforms and possible ways, and risk assessment just to ensure that all LGUs are equipped to create an appropriate and coordinated response action plan for the residents," Salcedo said.

Meanwhile, Ishmael Narag, also a supervising science research specialist of DoST-Phivolcs, said there are available technology-based and mobile applications such as Hazard Hunter, REDAS, and GeoRiskPH that the public and LGU officials and responders can browse and eventually help them not only on the monitoring side but also to have a better understanding of various possible tsunami risks and hazards in specific areas.

These platforms, including the DoST-Phivolcs websites and social media accounts, would help every LGU to come up with better decision-making, he added.

The Philippines, he said, should be prepared for tsunamis especially since the country is an archipelago and earthquakes occur often.

"Nearly 80 percent of tsunami events are generated by earthquakes and other factors such as landslides, volcanic eruptions, as well as other occurrences like a meteorite impact," he said.

He urged local governments to develop and further enhance their tsunami warning systems and evacuation plans to protect every Filipino, especially those residing in coastal areas.

"An effective end-to-end tsunami early warning system could save thousands of lives and it can only be successful if it spans the continuum of activities associated with an end-to-end approach," he said.