The upcoming conference had not garnered much attention , but due to the 26 December , Indian Ocean tsunami , the attendance grew dramatically and the international media focused on the event . Japan 's Emperor Akihito opened the conference and welcomed 4,000 participants from around the world . The World Conference adopted plans to put in place an International Early Warning Programme ( IEWP ) , which had first been proposed at the Second International Conference on Early Warning in 2003 in Bonn , Germany
Indian Ocean tsunami
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction