Disaster Management Activities in
Sri Lanka
by
Major General Gamini Hettiarachchi (Retd)
Director General
Disaster Management Centre
Post Tsunami Disaster Risk Reduction
Measures
 Legal and Institutional frameworks.
 Road Map
 Capacity building, Preparedness measures and
reaction capacities.
 Early Warning systems including forecasting,
dissemination of warnings and Last Mile activities.
Legal and Institutional
Frameworks
Sri Lanka Disaster Management Act;
No.13 of 2005
 Provides for a Framework for Disaster Risk
Management (DRM) in Sri Lanka
Addresses Disaster Management (DM)
holistically, leading to a policy shift from
response based mechanisms to a proactive
approach
Hazards that come under the purview of
the DMC
 Floods
 Droughts
 Landslides
 Industrial Hazards
 Tsunami (Seismic Wave)
 Earthquakes
 Air Hazards
 Fire
 Epidemics
 Explosions
 Air Raids
 Civil or Internal Strife
 Chemical Accidents
 Radiological Emergency
 Oil Spills
 Nuclear Disaster
 Urban and Forest Fire
 Coastal Erosion
 Tornadoes, Lightening
Strikes and Severe Thunder
Storms
National Council For Disaster
Management
Ministers in charge of
Social Services
Rehabilitation &
Reconstruction
Home Affairs
Health
Science &
Technology
Housing
Coast
Conservation
Irrigation
Power
Defence
Ministers in charge of
National Council for
Disaster Management
Police
Finance
Land
Chair Person : H.E. President
Vice Chairman: Hon. Prime Minister
Fisheries & Aquatic
Resources
Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Disaster
Management & Human Rights
Water Supply
Highways
Urban
Development
Education
DMC
Environment
 The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) was
established in August 2005 as the lead agency in
disaster risk management in the country
 In December 2005, the Ministry for Disaster
Management was established. On January 2006,
above Ministry was renamed as the Ministry of
Disaster Management & Human Rights with
human right portfolio being added to the Ministry
Organizational Structure
Disaster Management Centre
National
Level
Disaster Management Centre
(Director General)
Tech. Com. in
each division
Risk
Assessment,
Data
Collection,
Research &
Analysis
Centre
Disaster
Management
Technology,
Mitigation
Unit
Multi-Hazard
Early warning
&
Dissemination
Unit
Finance Branch
Intermediate
& Local
Levels
Preparedness
Planning
Unit
Training,
Education
& Public
Awareness
Unit
Personnel &
Administration
Branch
District Emergency Operation Centres
(DRM Coordinators)
Disaster Management Assistants
National
Consultants
24 x 7
National
Emergency
Operation
Centre
Media Unit
Multi-Hazards Warning Dissemination System
PWTS
DOM
NBRO
Regional &
International
Organizations
DOI
GSMB
CCD
Atomic
Energy
Authority
Receiving Early Warnings
Government
Agencies, Critical
Agencies &
Stakeholders
Police
NARA
Radio Comm
Dissemination
of Warning
Multi-Hazards Early Warning
Dissemination Unit of the
DMC
Out Puts
SLT/ Dialog,
SMS
Fax
Media & General
Public
Internet
Military
UN System,
INGOs, NGOs
24/7 Emergency
Operation Rooms
Satellite com
Cell Broad.
Police Com
Provincial Councils
District Disaster Management Committee
District Secretariats
Military Com
Divisional Disaster Management Committee
Divisional
Secretariats
Warning
Towers
Local Authorities
Villa level DM Committees
DEWNS
Police Stations
Radio / TV
Hospitals
Government Dpt.
NGOs, CBOs
Speaker Sys.
Bells / Sirens
Messengers
Riders / Cyclers
24 x 7 National Emergency Operations Centre
Relief and response work during recent flood & landslide
disasters in the country has been coordinated effectively
Disaster Risk Management Mechanism at
Sub-national Level
District Secretary
District Disaster
Management Committee
Disaster
Management
Centre
Emergency Op. Rooms
Govt. Departments
Div. Level Committees
Prov. Level Disaster
Management
Committee
Local Authority
Committees
District
Disaster
Management
Coordinators
GN Committees
Village
volunteer
Committees
Military & Police
Private Sector
NGOs/ Civil
Societies
Business
Communities
Early Warning, Medical / Health, Search & Rescue, Camp
Management & Security Committees
Devolved Disaster Management
Framework
 National Disaster Management Coordinating Committee
 Provincial / District Disaster Management Committees
 Divisional Disaster Management Committees
 Community Disaster Management Committee
 Sub Committees
 Early Warning,
 Medical / Health
 Search & Rescue
 Camp Management
 Village Security
National DRM Committees
 National advisory Committee
 Emergency Response Committee
 Disaster Victim Identification
 Building Guideline Committee
 Colombo Flood Committee
The Roadmap Towards a Safer Sri Lanka
The Roadmap is a 10 year DRM framework to be
addressed in a systematic manner with the
involvement of all relevant stakeholders. These
priorities of actions are consistent with the Sri Lanka
DM Act No. 13 of 2005 and also in line with the
Hyogo Framework For Action 2005-2015.
Community Capacity Building,
Preparedness Measures
&
Response Capacities
Risk Awareness
&
Knowledge Building
Awareness and Knowledge Creation among the Stakeholders
Training of Stakeholders
Knowledge and Awareness Building in
Communities and Stakeholders for
Risk Reduction
Community
Awareness
Participatory Hazard Mapping to
identify safe routes and safe areas
Participatory Hazard Mapping in Vulnerable Communities
Community Evacuation Plans
Mock Drills to ensure response capacities
Evacuation Mock Drills
Community De-briefing
Lidar Survey of the coastal belt
was carried out with Italian
Government sponsorship.
Community Response Capacity
Community response capacity enhance
through the training of village level volunteers
for the following;
 First Aid
 Life Saving
 Swimming
 Boat handling
 Leadership (Outward Bound Training)
 Search & Rescue
 Camp Management
Preparedness & Response Plans
 National Level Plans
 Provincial Level Plans
 District Level Plans
 Divisional Level Plans
 Gramaniladhari Level Plans
Preparation of SOPs
Preparation of SOPs at National, District,
Divisional and Community Levels.
Disaster Management Plans
 School Preparedness Plans.
 Institutional Preparedness Plans
Hospital Preparedness Plans for mass casualty
transfer.
Building Codes
 DMC
has established a Committee for
Development of Guidelines for Construction in
Disaster Prone Areas
 Hazard specific Building Codes for Landslides,
Cyclone, Flood prone areas and for Seismic Activity
has been finalized.
 The Department of National Housing has
compiled Building Codes for Tsunami prone areas
which are pending finalization.
Early Warning Systems including
Forecasting, Dissemination of
Warnings and Last Mile Activities
Technical Agencies involved in
issuing warnings
 Meteorological Department
 National Building Research Organization
 Irrigation Department
 Coast Conservation Department
 National Aquatic Resources Agency
 Geological Survey & Mines Bureau
 Health Department (Epidemiology Unit)
Multi-Hazard Early Warning System
Warning Given
by Technical
Agencies
DMC & Other
Relevant
Agencies
Vulnerable
Communities
Methods of Dissemination
 Mass Media (TV/Radio/News papers)
 Police/Military Communication
 Multi Hazard Warning Towers
 DEWN Devices
 HF/VHF Communications
 Telephones/CDMA/GSM
 Satellite Communication
 Internet
 Cell Broadcast/ SMS
 RANET
Seeking a Reliable Communication System for
“Last Mile”
Government
Community
Communication Tools
DMC
DEWN Multi hazard Temple Bell
EW tower
Flood Warning
District
Division
Loudspeaker car
SMS
Police
Evacuation Instruction
Media
Handy
speaker
TV & Radio
Loudspeaker
In cooperation with
CBDM
Last Mile Activity
Community level
TV
Messengers/Runners
Motor cyclists/Cyclists
/Three Wheelers
RADIO
Sirens/Bells
RANET
Speaker systems in
villages
Telephone/Mobiles
Police vehicles with
speakers
Hand held VHF set
Telephones
Mobile/SMS
DEWN
ECommuni
cation
Warning
Towers
Near Real Time Landslide Early Warning
NBRO
Traditional
communication
systems in villages
LANDSLIDE
WARNING
Public Announcements through Radio,
TV (Cyclones, Floods, Landslides)
Public Evacuation
Early Warning Network
Observation
Observation
Information
Transfer
DOI
DOM
Data Analysis
Community
District
Evacuation
DMC
NBRO
Warning
Warning
Police
JICA Funded
Media
Intra-gov.
Network
Information
Transfer
End-to-End EW System in Pilot
Project
Grant Aid Project
Satellite
AWS
DMC
District
DM Coordinator
DOM
DS
Office
Telephone
Line
Rainfall Gauge
Waterlevel Gauge
DOI
Last Mile
Pilot Project in Kelani River Basin
Grant Aid : Meteorological Information Network
Real Time Monitoring of Meteorological Data
38 Automatic Weather Stations
Satellite
DOM
 50 x Tsunami Warning Towers in the coastal zones.
 VHF / HF Radio Communication System to be
established.
 10 line call centre to be established.
 Establishment of 10 EOCs at District levels.
 Establish community based Fire fighting capacity.
 Community based rainfall assessment for localized
Early Warning capacity.
 Last Mile Warning Dissemination to be
strengthened .
 Vertical Tsunami evacuation structure to be built at
selected locations.
National Level Activities
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National DM plan to be approved
National Policy to be approved
DesInventar to be consolidated
SLDRN to be consolidated
Risk Profile to be completed
SMS & Cell broadcasting on going
Safety Day Celebration to be continued
CBDRM Manual
Streamlining gender to Disaster Management
ICS to be integrated
Ranet to be consolidated
Colombo Flood Mitigation Programme to be completed
JICA Projects on going
USTDA Projects (SIAC)
DM Communication & Response Capacity Development Project - ICET
Strengthening Local Authorities
UNESCAP – Communication Project
School Disaster Management Activity -UN OCHA funded
Environmental Project – Funded by the Korean Government
Consolidation of DM Activities in
Line with the HFA