A two-minute silence will be observed from 9.25am to 9.27am, in remembrance of all those who died in the 2004 tsunami.

The 2022 National Safety Day will be marked today at district level while the main event will be held at the Peraliya Tsunami Memorial in Galle.

The National Safety Day was declared to mark the Tsunami that struck 14 coastal districts of Sri Lanka in 2004, killing around 35,000 Sri Lankans, while 5,000 individuals still remain missing.

Around 2,000 people were killed in the Peraliya Thelwatta train accident, which is considered to be the largest single rail disaster in world history by death toll.

502,456 individuals of 235,145 families in 34 Divisional Secretariats were affected by the disaster.

Tragedy struck when a 9.0-magnitude earthquake was recorded in deep seas near Sumatra Islands in Indonesia.

According to Cabinet Paper No.15/1975/715/001-1 of 2005, annually beginning from 2005, the 26th of December has been declared National Safety Day to remember the lives lost in the Tsunami.

The Disaster Management Centre said considering the economic and social conditions in the country, between 2015 and 2019, instead of holding a state level event, the National Safety Day focused on remembering individuals killed in various disaster situations.

This year, the National Safety Day will be held with political representatives including the State Minister of Defence, government officials, the Armed Forces and the Police.

Meanwhile, the general public has been requested to observe a two-minute silence at 9.25am to remember the individuals who died in the Boxing Day tsunami.