Questions Remain about Disaster Preparedness

Text & Pix by Buwanaka S. Perera in Arugam Bay

“If my family had known what was coming, they could have at least run to safety. My son was a fast runner. At least he would still be alive,” says Thyagaraj (52), a resident of Pottuvil, who lost both his parents, wife, and three children in the early hours of the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004. Thyagaraj, who was employed as a school bus driver in Qatar at the time, returned to Pottuvil a week after the disaster, only to find parts of the foundation of what used to be his home. With no bodies of his family to bury, Thyagaraj holds onto the gifts he brought back with him for his family as mementoes of that fateful day.

While, back in 2004, Sri Lanka did not have any form of tsunami early warning system, by 2013 the Indian Ocean Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System (IOTWMS)—the regional end-to-end warning system—was fully operational. Since then, in a matter of seconds, Sri Lanka can know if its coasts are at risk of a tsunami, thanks to more than 50 core seismic stations placed around the Indian Ocean that can warn each other. This information is then disseminated to the public by the designated State Departments. According to the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the responsibility for operating a 24/7 National Tsunami Warning Centre (NTWC) in Sri Lanka lies with the Department of Meteorology. The Government of Sri Lanka even introduced an extension number for the public to inquire about potential tsunami threats. While the Department of Meteorology informed Ceylon Today that the NTWC is operational, the newspaper was unable to reach any official via the contact number for the NTWC, raising concerns about the efficiency of the unit.

Forgotten evacuation drills

Thyagaraj’s sorrow and remorse are shared by many survivors of the disaster along the East Coast of the country. Some of the worst impacts were felt on the Eastern Coast. The 7-10 metre waves that hit the region took the lives of over 14,000 people. Some locals claim that it took them days after the tsunami to locate where their respective villages and hamlets once stood.

“The tsunami warning tower is in the highest place here, so the whole of Arugam Bay can hear it when it goes off. But I don’t think it has gone off in a few years now. Probably its batteries are dead,” quipped Kevin (29), a local hotelier.

Kevin was nine years old when he survived the tsunami. Never knowing what the word tsunami meant, let alone what safety measures to follow, Kevin, along with his parents and siblings, ran inland until they reached an elevated part of the jungle, where they remained until sunset. The clothes they wore were their only possessions. Guided by the full moon, they walked through 12 km of jungle until they reached a main road, where a CTB bus offered to take them to Lahugala—the first signs of civilisation they had seen since the tsunami that day.

Kevin claims that, as a result of the tsunami evacuation drills carried out by the Disaster Management Centre after the disaster, up until 2010, he now has an idea of which route to take when evacuating and the designated refugee centres for his area.

“I don’t think many remember though. The last time a tsunami evacuation drill was carried out in Arugam Bay was the year after the war,” claims Kevin. An allegation that the DMC refused to respond to when Ceylon Today inquired.

Inconsistent drills

Anoja Seneviratne, Director of Mitigation, Research, and Development at the DMC in Sri Lanka, claims that while there has been a reduction in community-based evacuation drills, the DMC has carried out extensive tsunami evacuation drills targeting schools along the coast.

However, a recent study carried out by University College London in partnership with the University of Moratuwa in 2022, titled ‘Engineering Surveys of Sri Lankan Schools Exposed to Tsunami’, shows that over 430 coastal schools in Sri Lanka lie within the DMC tsunami inundation zone. According to the numbers presented by the Ministry of Education, more than 200,000 students are identified as vulnerable to a tsunami.

Yet, the DMC’s annual report states that in 2022, a single workshop was held in Kattankudy with the participation of 600 students from across the country to mark World Tsunami Awareness Day. Again, an undisclosed number of schools in the coastal areas of Trincomalee, Galle, and Matara took part in a tsunami evacuation drill in October 2023.

A vast majority of the students in the 430 coastal schools within the DMC tsunami inundation zone did not participate in any form of tsunami evacuation drill or other awareness programme. Given the Covid-19 pandemic, Easter attacks, and the economic crisis, another official from the DMC told Ceylon Today that the DMC found it difficult to maintain consistency in school evacuation drills.

The annual reports of the DMC provide evidence of the inconsistent tsunami evacuation drills carried out over the past 14 years.

Seneviratne says that the State has allocated only Rs 10 million for the DMC (to be used not exclusively for tsunami
-related activities but for its operations in any disaster posing a threat to the country), and that the DMC must depend on third-party stakeholders such as the United Nations, USAID, and private corporations for the balance of funding. She claims that the Rs 10 million given by the State and the third-party funds are more than enough to carry out the DMC’s operations within the country.

“See, this money is not enough, but we should ask ourselves how we can make the maximum use of the funds we have instead of complaining about a lack of funding or not doing enough for that matter,” claims Seneviratne. Despite the director’s lacklustre approach, it seems evident that the DMC’s lack of funding is having a catastrophic impact on the coastal communities.

She also claims that with the limited funding available to the DMC, investing in expensive structural mitigation methods is unwise, as the possibility of another tsunami is one in 500. Seneviratne believes that Sri Lanka must look into more nature-based solutions, such as bands of mangrove forests and sand dune banks, while ensuring local infrastructure is developed in a tsunami-resistant manner.

Community responsibility

After the tsunami sirens activate as part of the tsunami warning system, the tsunami evacuation signages will be one of the two most important life-savers for local communities in the event of a tsunami. These signages will serve as the primary indicators of the local “safe zone.” Yet, along the Eastern Coast of the island, one can find such signages only if they actively search for them. Rusted, faded, and peeling, some of these signs are even forgotten by the locals.

Seneviratne alleges that the respective Pradeshiya Sabhas along the Eastern Coast are responsible for the current dilapidated state of these signages. She says that the Local Government of the area should ensure that these signs are properly maintained. She suggested they invite private investors to sponsor the renewal and maintenance of the boards in case the respective Pradeshiya Sabha lacks funding.

However, the DMC’s official website states that the maintenance of tsunami warning signages and demarcations is one of the DMC’s key responsibilities.

According to the Director of DMC, Pradeep Kodippili, who is also a survivor of the 2004 tsunami, the responsibility lies with the public regarding how well-equipped they are with the knowledge of facing another tsunami. He claims that one of the biggest challenges the DMC is facing is the lethargic approach locals take in being part of these awareness campaigns and exercises.

“Last year’s main drill was in Trincomalee District. When we invited the locals to take part, only women and children participated,” claims Director Kodippili. Fishing, which is an industry that almost exclusively employs men in the area, is the main source of income for a vast majority of the residents along the Eastern Coast. Locals argue that the DMC should give prior notice before an evacuation drill, as many of the men could be at sea or working at a local hotel.

“It’s not that we don’t want to take part in a drill, if it happens. They should inform us so we can sort out our work commitments. I know the value of being aware of evacuation routes and drills more than anyone. I clung onto a coconut tree, and my sister hung onto a barbed wire fence as I watched our house getting swept away into the ocean. After all, this is my bread and butter,” claims Susantha (43).

As the world prepares to remember the more than 35,000 Sri Lankan lives, along with 250,000 lives across the Indian Ocean, bureaucrats seem to be letting go of their accountability in creating a more tsunami-resilient Sri Lanka.

As we mark 20 years of the worst tsunami disaster in recorded history that united both Sri Lanka and the world for a moment, it is only fair to be sceptical and concerned as to whether Sri Lanka is prepared for another tsunami.
Sourse:
https://ceylontoday.lk/2024/12/21/questions-remain-about-disaster-preparedness/