{"id":53421,"date":"2017-06-03T20:00:28","date_gmt":"2017-06-04T00:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=53421"},"modified":"2017-06-03T20:00:28","modified_gmt":"2017-06-04T00:00:28","slug":"floods-and-landslides-disaster-exposes-sri-lankas-unpreparedness-to-handle-emergency-situations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=53421","title":{"rendered":"Floods and Landslides Disaster Exposes Sri Lanka’s Unpreparedness to Handle Emergency Situations."},"content":{"rendered":"

By Namini Wijedasa and Sandun Jayawardena<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s disasters in several districts of the country highlighted just how unprepared Sri Lanka still is to handle such situations.<\/p>\n

The local authorities found themselves with little or no resources\u2013no power generators, no communications equipment, no boats, lifejackets or other equipment essential to deal with flash floods and landslides. <\/p>\n

If any village-level disaster management or preparedness systems were in place, they mostly crumbled under the weight of the natural catastrophes that befell multiple settlements.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In many areas, it was the military and the various temples that took charge. Ven Puragala Sobitha Thera, the chief incumbent of the Sri Purvaramaya in Gawaragiriya described how he attended to the needs of devotees who moved into the temple. There was no Government support he could speak of.<\/p>\n

The village officials were overwhelmed, Ven Sobitha Thera accepted. So he gathered the people around and set about securing provisions for them. The roads were inpassable, not only due to floods, but because of landslides. Even on Thursday, the Army was working to clear the Horana-Bulathsinhala route.
\n\u201cThey were scared and didn\u2019t know where to go, so everyone came running here,\u201d the monk said. \u201cI had no food to give them. I gathered some young people around and told them to bring everything they could from the shops because we didn\u2019t know what other disaster would take place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey keep asking me now when they can go from the temple and to where,\u201d he continued. \u201cThe children have no school. If necessary, I will start teaching them here whatever subjects I know. I don\u2019t think the danger will go away. It will only get worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

In every village, people have crowded around their temples. Monks give them reassurance, protection and solace. They have hiked up their saffron robes and done everything they can during the disaster.
\nThe danger is not over, officials confirmed, particularly in landslide prone districts. The hills and foothills are unstable and heavy rains will cause saturation and trigger more slips. The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) will conduct investigations within the next few days to identify locations from which families will have to be permanently shifted. But since there is no clear information about rainfall\u2013such as how much and within how many hours\u2013many people have been advised to move into safe locations.<\/p>\n

It has long been reported that the NBRO has produced maps categorizing areas as high, medium and low risk. Last week\u2019s landslides occurred in both high and medium hazard zones. \u201cWe need to implement recommendations for each zone,\u201d said Senarath Bandara, Director of the Landslide Research and Risk Management Division. Many high hazard zones are heavily populated with houses and these must be relocated.<\/p>\n

The NBRO has issued early warnings. But dissemination to grassroots level was not under their purview. As with many previous disasters, a large number of affected people claimed they hadn\u2019t been told to shift.
\nIronically, Sri Lanka already has a Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP) to cover the period 2014-2018. It was produced with technical assistance from the UNDP. It also has a roadmap, a National Disaster Management Policy and a Disaster Management Plan. And, yet, last week saw 211 deaths, 72 missing and 91 injured due to floods and landslides.<\/p>\n

The objectives of the CDPM are listed as building capacity at institutional and individual levels; integrating risk information-based approaches in the development agenda; preventing and mitigating impacts of frequently occurring disasters on life and property; improving coordination of stakeholder groups (public, private, NGOs and others); enhancing response capacity at all levels; adopting an integrated monitoring and evaluation and a reporting system; and effective knowledge management in disaster risk reduction.<\/p>\n

But while the plans\u2013and copious amounts of literature\u2013are in place, Sri Lanka continues to fail in implementation.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:Sunday Times<\/em><\/p>\n

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By Namini Wijedasa and Sandun Jayawardena Last week\u2019s disasters in several districts of the country highlighted just how unprepared Sri Lanka still is to handle such situations. The local authorities found themselves with little or no resources\u2013no power generators, no communications equipment, no boats, lifejackets or other equipment essential to deal with flash floods and …<\/p>\n

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