An investigation into disaster management practices in relation to recent disaster events in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Disasters have become frequent phenomena in Sri Lanka over the past few years. The latest incidents were experienced in May 2017. Although a frequent occurrence, the preparedness of government authorities and communities, was found to be experiencing significant hurdles. Hence, this study aimed to identify the opportunities and challenges in the disaster management process and explore future strategies. In order to achieve this aim, firstly a newspaper article review was conducted, which was followed by interviewing experts in various branches of disaster management in Sri Lanka. The collected data were analysed through manual content analysis, and several key findings were established. It was found that the communication of early warning from state agencies to communities were ineffective to a large extent. Thus, developing extensive hazard maps to identify vulnerable areas and capacity building of the communities in those areas to identify and react to early signs of disasters by themselves was identified as a key strategy that should be implemented in the future. The study further emphasised the importance of complying with building codes and land use practices that are already existing.