Flooded with questions

Rains have returned, bringing their usual devastation. Colombo was submerged in flash floods that seem unabated despite massive infrastructure development programs, while an estimated 23,000 people were affected in the Western Province.

Snarls of traffic formed as people struggled to find their way about in the floods, showing that little has changed in a practical sense despite millions being spent on “beautification” projects. The need to prioritise projects and monitor their results has become all the more important in the aftermath of the recent spate of rainy weather.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has stated that natural disasters in Sri Lanka during the past decade have inflicted an economic cost of over Rs. 257 billion or US$ 1.95 billion.

UNOCHA said that in the last 34 years, natural disasters have killed more than 37,000 Sri Lankans. Thousands of families have lost their livelihoods. In an effort to mitigate effects of disasters, the Survey Department of Sri Lanka and the UNOCHA have signed a historic agreement for digital data dissemination. But natural as well as manmade disasters continue to plague the country.

For example, the ongoing rainy weather has affected thousands but the cycle of floods and droughts reoccur with increasing frequency. Without sustainable, transparent and well-monitored programs the funds that are allocated for disaster management does not filter down to affected families. Moreover, larger projects such as the US$ 230 million World Bank funded project, which is tasked with flood prevention in Colombo and surrounding areas, should focus on priority needs that directly benefit the people. De-politicisation of infrastructure programs is another essential aspect that has long been ignored.  

Disaster management is similar to disaster mitigation; however it implies a whole-of-Government approach to using community resources to fight the effects of an event and assumes the community will be self-sufficient for periods of time until the situation can be stabilised.

Through disaster management, one cannot completely counteract the damage but it is possible to minimise the risks through early warning, provide developmental plans for recuperation from the disaster, generate communication and medical resources, and aid in rehabilitation and post-disaster reconstruction.

The exchange of correct information following the event is important, in order to ensure the resources necessary to support response and recovery activities. The 72 hours following a major event is the most difficult time because of a lack of coordination among relief organisations.

This was keenly felt during the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that has been titled by some as the worst natural disaster in history. Sunny Sri Lanka was badly hit and struggled for several years afterwards, with scandals of missing donor funds and substandard housing still haunting, many years later. Even after much recovery was made, there was no effort by the Government to investigate allegations of corruption or look into the mysterious absence of accounting by many State and non-governmental agencies. This also led to mistrust between people and agencies.

As the numbers show, the human and economic cost of disasters continues to pose challenges to Sri Lanka’s disaster management system. Will floods be the norm forever?