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| Sunday, 29 May 2005 |
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Get ready for floods : DMC alerts Ratnapura by Jayantha Sri Nissanka Sri Lankans have pushed the country to a natural disaster prone status by committing anti environmental acts during the last 20 years, according to the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) Director N. D. Hettiachchi. "We must ensure conservation of available natural resources to minimise future disasters in order to lift the country out of disaster prone status", he noted. Sri Lanka was not much hit by natural disasters before 1980. But today the country is frequently experiencing floods,landslides,drought and other disasters mainly due to deforestation,sand and gem mining,unauthorised structures,improper land use pattern and destroying of mangroves,coral, etc. Of the total disasters experienced by Sri Lanka, 60 percent are floods. The DMC has warned Government officials in Ratnapura to prepare for floods soon. According to forecasts, 45 days after the Sinhala Hindu New Year Ratnapura city becomes vulnerable to floods. Hettiarchchi noted that drought and landslides can be controlled by stopping deforestation and introducing better land use patterns in the vulnerable areas. Impact of drought can be minimised by introducing rain water harvesting, drip irrigation, agro-well and rainwater ponds. The DMC was established in 1996 on an adhoc basis but was not given enough resources by any Government in the past to effectively function. The DMC is functioning today with only nine officials and minimum resources. However, after realising the importance of the DMC after the tsunami devastation, a new Act was passed recently and more facilities are to be given to improve the DMC. |
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