Natural disasters are a force of nature but knowledge must be the counterforce of man

It is the greatest failure of responsibility for any public institution that has access to information and knowledge on an issue that threatens the lives of its populous to remain without action. This is the tragic reality of Sri Lanka, where disaster management is tied to four 

organisations – Pic by Shehan Gunasekara

By Priyanka Moonesinghe and Kaushalya Ariyathilaka

As of 31 May, around 603,802 people from 163,889 families were affected in 15 districts due to the floods in Sri Lanka. The death toll is at 203 persons and a further 96 are reported missing.1

These figures are staggering on their own and illustrate the damaging effects of floods during the monsoon season. However, let us juxtapose these figures with those of last year’s disaster. According to the National Disaster Relief Services Centre (NDRSC), 24 districts out of a total of 25 districts countrywide were affected by the flooding and landslides last year (May 2016), affecting approximately 493,319 people (124,398 families); 93 people died, 33 were injured and 117 were deemed missing.2

When these figures are collated, an entirely different picture emerges separate to the narrative of Sri Lanka’s Risk Profile: a country prone to natural disasters. These statistics, based on two consecutive years of flooding (the effects of which seemed to have multiplied), point to a severe lack of contingency planning and dissemination of information by the relevant authorities. 

The fact is that Sri Lanka is affected by the El Niño phenomenon, as is much of the South Asian region. The risk assessment platform INFORM3 ranks Sri Lanka 56 out of 191 countries, and the World Risk Index 20164 ranks Sri Lanka 63 out of 171 countries. This evidence points to the fact that flooding is a common occurrence in Sri Lanka and is corroborated by every major study done internally (Sri Lanka Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme5 and the Sri Lanka Post Disaster Needs Assessment6) and in collaboration with international bodies such as the World Bank, UNDP and UNDISR.

However, all this information has been known, compiled and readily available since the 2004 tsunami. Victims of floods become mere statistics and figures confined to bureaucratic reports when no mechanisms for early warning or disaster mitigation exists, even when the relevant knowledge and expertise is readily available. 

It is the greatest failure of responsibility for any public institution that has access to information and knowledge on an issue that threatens the lives of its populous to remain without action. This is the tragic reality of Sri Lanka, where disaster management is tied to four organisations (the Department of Meteorology, the Disaster Management Centre, the National Building Research Organisation and the National Disaster Relief Centre), and is overseen by a National Council for Disaster Management comprised of a total of 37 politicians including the President and Prime Minister.  

The budget for the National Disaster Relief Services Centre and the Disaster Management Centre together is a total of Rs. 1.5 billion. 

In addition, just a few weeks prior to the 2016 floods in Sri Lanka, the Government paid Rs. 300 million as a premium to purchase its first national natural disaster cover from the country’s National Insurance Trust Fund (NITF), a public body under the Ministry of Finance.7 

This state-funded National Natural Disaster Insurance Policy (NNDIP) covers the costs of damages caused and provides emergency relief to victims. The Government also has a $ 102 million Disaster Risk Management Development Policy Loan project with the World Bank as of 2014.8 Even the newsletter published on the DMC website highlights a project launched in collaboration with Dialog Telekom Plc for a mass alert warning system acronymised as the Disaster Emergency Warning Network (DEWN). 

Private sector-military disaster response collaboration

Disaster response and mitigation has to be done in collaboration with the private sector and the military, which are able to mobilise resources more effectively. As of 27 May 2017, personnel from the security forces, including more than 1,600 Army personnel, are currently engaged in rescue and relief operations.9 Army personnel of 12 battalions, including commanders of the 58 Division and 14 Division, along with 13 Navy rescue and relief groups and Air Force reconnaissance teams have been deployed in the worst-affected areas. 

Military-military and civil-military coordination and cooperation in disaster relief and rescue is greatly commendable. Increasing the scale and incidence of natural disasters has resulted in an increased interest in disaster response from military institutions.10 

As civil-military coordination and cooperation continues, public institutions have the opportunity to ascertain effectiveness, rapid actions and emergency assistance in general, which is at the core of military operations. Therefore, the authorities cannot possibly claim that they lack the resources or funding for implementation of mitigation mechanisms as they have the twin arms of the military and civilian mobilisation in coordination with the private sector.

As of 31 May 2017, Rs. 2.5 million was pledged as compensation for flood-affected households.11 However, this further compounds the problem as most of the flood-affected areas were repeat cases from last year (the difference being that urban areas such as Colombo and Gampaha were affected last year whereas more rural areas in Matara and Ratnapura were the most affected this year) and in all likelihood the same people living in flood-prone areas are affected. Thus, compensation merely creates a cycle of dependency without actually addressing the root cause of the issue. 

The reason for having two consecutive years of flooding in Sri Lanka in a broader sense has to do with global warming, which is beyond the scope of this commentary. The crux of the issue lies internally and is that of the dissemination of information and public awareness. The effects of flooding are catalysed by the fact that people often build illegal constructions in flood-prone areas. The Census of Population and Housing (2012)12 indicates that there are around 21,000,000 people living in around 5,000,000 housing units in the 25 disaster-affected districts. 

Unauthorised constructions disrupt the drainage system and the natural flow of rivers. It was one of the reasons why the Kelani River overflowed last year and why the Nilwala River broke its banks this year. 

Once again, this issue is tied to bureaucracy. The governance system for the housing, land and settlements is as complex as the structural organisation of the DMC. However, approval by the National Building Research Organisation for any construction in areas above 305 m (1,000 ft) above sea level13 is required, which includes the majority of estates. Yet, the fact that constructions continue in these areas suggests that there is no oversight or follow-up on such regulations. 

Another reason for flooding in Sri Lanka is our destruction of forest cover. Sri Lanka ranks fourth among countries destroying their forest cover.14 Without natural plantation, landslides will be a common occurrence. Thus, although the floods themselves are a force of nature, it is apparent that most of the effects of such forces are man-made. 

There seems to be an abundance of plans, projects and reports on the necessary methods to mitigate future disasters. Yet Sri Lanka seems doomed to repeat this cycle of crisis history if it is not able to harness the wealth of knowledge at its disposal. 

The Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka (INSSSL) has emphasised the significance of natural disasters as a pertinent threat to Sri Lanka through the organisation of a Security Salon – ‘Is the prevailing drought a result of climate change?’ this past January as well as an upcoming public lecture in June on ‘Human security in a changing climate: Addressing its impact in Sri Lanka and South Asia’. This institution sees natural disasters as a significant risk factor for Sri Lanka and the means to mitigate it through research. Therefore man’s best counterforce to natural disasters is through the closing of information and awareness gaps, thereby rendering a civilian population more prepared to tackle the forces of nature. 

(The writers are a Research Analyst and Research Assistant respectively at the Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka (INSSSL). This article does not reflect the stance of INSSSL or the Government of Sri Lanka.)

Footnotes

1Ministry of Disaster Management Website: http://www.dmc.gov.lk/index_english.htm

2As quoted in Sri Lanka Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) - May 2016 Floods and Landslides published by the Ministry of Disaster Management & Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs In collaboration with the European Union, the World Bank and the United Nations – p.19

3Index for Risk Management. 2016, INFORM country risk profiles for 191 countries

4Garschagen, M. et al, 2016, World Risk Report 2016.

5Sri Lanka Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme 2014 -2018, published March 2014: Ministry of Disaster Management website: http://www.disastermin.gov.lk/web/images/pdf/slcdmp%20english.pdf

6Sri Lanka Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) - May 2016 Floods and Landslides published by the Ministry of Disaster Management & Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs In collaboration with the European Union, the World Bank and the United Nations

7As quoted in Sri Lanka Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) - May 2016 Floods and Landslides published by the Ministry of Disaster Management & Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs In collaboration with the European Union, the World Bank and the United Nations – p.26

8Ibid.

9Ministry of Defence, Media Release May 27, 2017, http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=Rescue_and_Flood_Relief_Operations_of_the_Army_Navy_and_Air_Force_20170527_02, accessed on May 31, 2017.

10Manish Thapa, ‘Out of Barracks: Civil-Military Relations in Disaster Management’, United Nations University for Peace, June 2016, https://www.upeace.org/uploads/file/Ideas01.pdf 

11Amali Mallawaarachchi, Daily News, May 30, 2017, http://dailynews.lk/2017/05/30/local/117440/government-provide-rs-25-million-house-affected-floods

12Ibid.  – p. 43

13Ibid. 

14Raveendra Kariyawasam, ‘Floods and Landslides in Sri Lanka: Where have we erred’, Daily News, 25 May 2016, http://dailynews.lk/2016/05/25/features/82709, accessed on 31 May 2017