Hydro-Meteorological Incident and Disaster Response in Sri Lanka. Case Study: 2016 May Rain Events

Earth

Chandrasekara M. Madduma-Bandara¹  Thalakumbure W. M. T. W. Bandara¹  Hiran I. Tillekaratne²  Amila Abeynayaka³  Induka Werellagama⁴ 

[1] Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya 20400, Sri Lanka;Disaster Management Center (DMC), Vidya Mawatha, Colombo 00700, Sri Lanka;Graduate School of Environmental and Information Studies, Tokyo City University, Tsuzuki Ward, Yokohama 224-0015, Japan;School of Engineering, Wellington Institute of Technology, Wellington 6011, New Zealand;

关键词: disaster response;    post-disaster needs assessment;    socio-hydrology;    rainfall data;    hydro-meteorology;   

DOI  :  10.3390/earth3010001

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

This paper investigates hydro-meteorological hazards faced by Sri Lanka, a lower-middle-income island country in Asia. It provides a case study of a major hydro-meteorological disaster incident that resulted in one of the largest landslides in the history of the country, the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) process, and the national disaster response. Rainfall and flood inundation data are provided for the whole country. The fact that data are held by several government agencies (namely Department of Meteorology, Department of Irrigation, and NBRO), somewhat coordinated by the Disaster Management Center (DMC) is shown. The need for more streamlined coordination of hydro-met data with online access of data for researchers is emphasized. The flood disaster situation and disaster declaration of the Western Province (which contributes nearly 40% of the GDP) is looked at, and evidence is presented to recommend a smaller governance unit for future disaster declarations, in order to bring aid to the places where it is needed and leaving other areas of the province to carry on with the normal economic activity. An example of the use of climate change scenarios in rainfall prediction is provided from a developed island nation (New Zealand). The need for Sri Lanka to increase its spending for hydro-met services (both infrastructure and skills) is highlighted (the global norm being 0.02 of GDP), as the return on such investment is tenfold.

【 授权许可】

Unknown