Investigation of efficiency and effectiveness of the existing disaster management frameworks in Sri Lanka

Abstract

In the recent past Sri Lanka has experienced several significant natural disasters. Above all others, the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 had a devastating effect on more than one million people. With the aim of effectively managing all phases of a disaster and to enhance the resilience of the community, the Disaster Management Act was passed in 2005 to provide necessary immediate legal provisions, and was later revised into a national policy. Furthermore, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) was also established. At present, the DMC and all the line agencies focus on disaster management functions under the ministry of disaster management. The comprehensive disaster management program was prepared in 2014 and it is to be used up until 2018. Furthermore, it was proposed to identify mechanisms to integrate the Sendai Framework into the Sri Lankan national disaster management framework. However, during recent disasters, the DMC and the disaster management framework was under severe criticism from the public as well as the technical community. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the efficiency and effectiveness of the existing disaster management framework in Sri Lanka in managing all phases of a disaster. Since the main governing policy for the DM and Disaster Risk Reduction in Sri Lanka is the Sri Lanka National Disaster Management Policy (SLNDMP), it was investigated whether the policy is applied effectively and efficiently. In addition, alignment with comprehensive global frameworks like the Sendai Principles was checked in parallel to identify its alignment with global standards. SLNDMP was evaluated against seven criteria, which were identified after carefully analyzing the requirements of the Sendai Framework. Applications of the SLNDMP was evaluated with respect to three disaster incidents which occurred recently; the collapse of the garbage dump in Meethotamulla on April 2017, the Colombo floods and the Aranayake landslide during May 2016. In addition, some of the 37 points indicated in the SLNDMP were also considered in this study. Finally, recommendations were provided for improvements to the policy.