The Hon. Deputy Chairperson

¶ 01 Past 28th November was a very important day, Hon. Deputy Chairperson. It was declared a public holiday. When a disaster is imminent, especially the public service, state agencies must work. But what did they do? They made it a holiday. Moreover, under Sections 11 and 12 of the Sri Lanka Disaster Management Act, No. 13 of 2005, the President has the power to declare a state of disaster. The President failed to do so. The Sri Lanka Disaster Management Act was never put into operation.

¶ 02 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, we saw a severe weakness in disaster management. In addition to the Act, Sri Lanka has a National Disaster Management Plan 2023–2030, a document of over 140 pages. Had the Government acted accordingly, this crisis could have been managed. Matale alone recorded 496 mm of rainfall. If the Government had studied the Plan, the impact could have been minimized. It states:

¶ 03 “About 87% of Sri Lanka’s population live in moderate or severe hotspots for disasters.”

¶ 04 What does this mean? That 87% of Sri Lankans live in areas exposed to environmental risk. Further, the Plan states:

¶ 05 “Based on the Global Climate Risk Index, Sri Lanka is considered among the top 30 countries impacted by climate change.”

¶ 06 That is, Sri Lanka ranks among the 30 most climate‑vulnerable countries.

¶ 07 It also clearly states:

¶ 08 “Sectors such as tourism, fisheries, plantations and agriculture which contribute significantly to Sri Lanka’s economy are climate sensitive and impacted...”

¶ 09 Our economy is devastated. Innocent lives are lost. Property is destroyed. The Government acted without understanding or attention. Because of poor disaster management, the economic and social losses have been vast. Around 30% of our population are children and adolescents; their needs in nutrition, water, sanitation, education and protection are being neglected. The Plan further notes:

¶ 10 “Sri Lanka experience disaster losses amounting to LKR 50 billion (US$ 313 million) annually in housing, infrastructure, agriculture...”

¶ 11 According to World Bank data, natural disasters cost us about LKR 50 billion annually. The Plan also notes:

¶ 12 “Out of the total estimated losses an amount of LKR 32 billion (US$ 200 million) incurred has been attributed to floods. Damages from cyclones and high winds accounts to LKR 11 billion...”

¶ 13 It further states:

¶ 14 “The annual average loss due to floods has been estimated as US$ 240 million.”

¶ 15 About 30% of our land area is at landslide risk. In July 2016...

¶ 16 Your time is up, Hon. Member.