The secretary-general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies was in Melbourne on Wednesday night as tsunami warnings were issued in several countries after two earthquakes.

Mr Geleta said that within minutes of the tsunami warnings being issued, the world's Red Cross and Red Crescent organisations were preparing to respond to a potential international disaster.

''I was a little scared, it was a bit shocking,'' Mr Geleta said during a visit to Canberra yesterday.

''We're lucky that it has not caused a lot of destruction and no lives have been lost.''

Mr Geleta said the rapid evacuation of coastal areas showed governments and individuals had learnt many of the lessons of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that killed an estimated 250,000 people.

''The alert system works and people were moved to high ground very quickly, or moved themselves very quickly to high ground,'' he said.

''People themselves had had the experience [in 2004] but they also believed and acted on the information provided. That's very good - good learning that saves lives.''

Mr Geleta said Red Cross organisations had improved their ability to react rapidly to disasters in recent years. ''They're immediately alerted and they were ready for action. We also activated the global response tool we have developed over the years,'' he said.

''The Australian Red Cross for example was alerted and it was ready to act and go into action.''

Ethiopian Mr Geleta spent 30 hours in Australia meeting government representatives and local Red Cross officials and volunteers en route to Fiji to inspect flood-recovery efforts. The one-time political prisoner was appointed secretary-general in 2008 of the body which coordinates the world's Red Cross society.

Mr Geleta said sudden natural disasters could occur anywhere in the world and countries needed to better prepare for them.

''We have to work on that always and everywhere because we don't know where it's going to happen next. Every country, every region, every community should prepare for the worst,'' he said.

One disaster Mr Geleta believes the world can prevent, is the looming food crisis in the Sahel region of Africa, which has the potential to drive 16 million people into famine.

He said famine could be prevented if the world paid attention to what was going on. ''It could turn to famine unless we really strengthen what we are doing. By we, I mean Red Cross, Red Crescent and Governments. I really believe the world will not let it go.''