{"id":244638,"date":"2025-12-04T00:17:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T18:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=244638"},"modified":"2025-12-08T16:19:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T10:49:06","slug":"sri-lanka-disasters-around-the-corner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-disasters-around-the-corner\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka: Disasters Around The Corner"},"content":{"rendered":"

By R Hariharan<\/a> –<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Col. (retd) R.Hariharan<\/p><\/div>\n

Cyclone Ditwah<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake<\/a><\/span> (AKD) would remember his 58th<\/sup>\u00a0birthday on November 24 for long as the disastrous cyclone Ditwah<\/a><\/span> struck a few days later. Before the cyclone struck, heavy rains in coastal cities and northern highlands flooded the infrastructure and caused landslides. Road and rail communication have been disrupted due to flooding. The inclement weather also resulted in cancel of flights. As the month ended, the cyclone seems to dissipate its energy while moving to Tamil Nadu coast, leaving Sri Lanka to grapple with the havoc caused by it. According the official figures released as on Nov 30, Cyclone Ditwah has claimed a total of 218 lives and 218 individuals are missing. The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) estimates nearly 1 million people (998,918)\u00a0people individuals from 273,606 families within 25 districts have been affected.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s vulnerability lies in its geography \u2013 island nation exposed to both Bay of Bengal cyclones and monsoon-driven floods. World Data tells us that on an average, Sri Lanka experiences two cyclonic storms per year, though all may not make direct landfall. While recent disasters like Cyclone Ditwah are severe, none have surpassed the 1978 cyclone\u2019s death toll of 740. That remains the highest recorded death toll from a single weather-related event in the country\u2019s history.\u00a0It struck Batticaloa and Trincomalee districts. Winds exceeded 220 km\/h, flattening villages and destroying thousands of homes. Apart from the deaths tens of thousands are displaced. Of course, there were other disasters \u2013 2017 floods and landslides in which over 200 people were killed. Flooding and landslides in Cyclone Bob-1 claimed 260 lives in 2003.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka faces dozens of other meteorological disasters annually, mostly floods, landslides, and extreme rainfall events, with over 90% of major disasters linked to meteorological phenomena. Sri Lanka does not have a single, permanent \u201cdedicated disaster relief force\u201d like India\u2019s 16-battalion strong \u00a0National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). Instead, it manages disasters through a combination of its Disaster Management Centre (DMC) and the armed forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), which are placed on high alert and mobilized in real time during emergencies.<\/p>\n

While the opposition was busy nit-picking government action, the so-called green horn President Dissanayake seems to have taken all the right actions to handle Cyclone Ditwah and its aftermath, though one might question his priorities. As\u00a0Cyclone Ditwah unfolded after heavy rains lashed a few days earlier and national and district authorities had activated early warnings of worsening weather. Evacuation of vulnerable populations and search-and-rescue operations were on the way as the weather system intensified.\u00a0The DMC was activated in time to strategize and coordinate the relief and rescue effort, particularly in using armed forces.<\/p>\n

The President has asked all MPs to go back to their electorates and oversee the rescue and relief operations and the parliament cancelled two days sitting to enable them to do so. President Dissanayake declared a State of Public Emergency across the country to ensure public safety and safeguard the continuity of essential supplies and services. National mechanisms were formally activated in keeping with the National Disaster Management Act of 2005. The National Emergency Operation Plan of 2017 was automatically triggered during the crises to guide and coordinate the armed forces, district administrations and first responders. The President appointed a special council to control everything, including the armed forces. National Disaster Management Committee met on November 27 at the Ministry of Defence to assess the emergency situation. The President held extensive discussions at the meeting on various measures taken. Also present at the meeting were Prime Minister Harini Abayasuriya and Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa apart from ministers and senior officials from various departments. The President also addressed the NGO representatives to coordinate their relief efforts with the armed forces.<\/p>\n

The Ministry for Ports and Civil Aviation issued a directive to local and all international airlines operating in Sri Lanka to help stranded tourists. It included full waiver for flight cancellation and rebooking charges for passengers to reschedule their disrupted flights with minimum hassle.<\/p>\n

Immigration authorities have announced special visa facilitation measures for foreign nationals, particularly tourists, affected by the flight cancellations or travel disruptions caused by the weather. They will be exempted from visa extension fees and overstay penalties.<\/p>\n

The aftermath of the cyclone will probably be an acid test for AKD\u2019s leadership skills to ensure the government’s operational and functional capability before and during the cyclone as politicians and media pundits dissect the government\u2019s conduct in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

The other disaster in the making?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

One of the strong points of President Dissanayake\u2019s government is its strong stand against charges of fraud, corruption and narcotics trafficking against earlier governments. In this political scene, the opposition has used the government\u2019s inaction to the Customs controversial release of 323 red-labelled containers from Colombo Port without carrying out the mandatory physical inspection. A report compiled by a four-member probe committee headed by Deputy Treasury Secretary handed over its report way back in July. It recommended that an internal inquiry should be held and disciplinary action taken against Customs officers who ignored recommendations made to conduct physical inspections of the containers. Opposition members have moved to introduce a resolution in parliament to appoint a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to probe the matter. This first serious corruption allegation to hit the JVP\/NPP government is likely to gain more adverse publicity for the government.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s assistance<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

India has come out on top once in assisting Sri Lanka during Cyclone Ditwah and its aftermath. It reinforces India\u2019s role as first responder in the Indian Ocean Region. India has enhanced interoperability between Indian and Sri Lankan forces. More than all that it reinforces and operationalizes India\u2019s SAGAR vision and MAHASAGAR initiative through tangible disaster relief, reflecting India\u2019s \u201cNeighbourhood First\u201d and Vision MAHASAGAR introduced in 2023 for maritime security and capacity building for HADR among IOR countries.<\/p>\n

As soon as Sri Lanka made a request for assistance, India launched\u00a0Operation Sagar Bandhu<\/i>\u00a0Under SAGAR BANDHU operation,\u00a0<\/i>India\u2019s assistance provided included two NDRF teams, Mi-17 V5 helicopters, INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya, and over 33 tonnes of humanitarian relief supplies (tents, blankets, food, medical aid, boats, advanced rescue tools delivered by IAF cargo aircraft and naval ships provided medical teams also. The two NDRF urban search and rescue teams (80 personnel) was sent to Colombo with boats, medical kits and advanced tools. The IAF Mi-17 V5 helicopters were deployed for rapid HADR missions.<\/p>\n

At the strategic level, India\u2019s Operation Sagar Bandhu should be viewed in the larger context of the 7th National Security Adviser level meeting of the Colombo Security Conclave held in New Delhi November 20, roughly a week before the weather turned virulent in Sri Lanka. Member States including Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at the Conclave hosted by India. Seychelles participated as an observer was admitted as a full member at the meeting. Malaysia attended the meeting as a Guest.<\/p>\n

The first Secretary General, appointed by India, presented a comprehensive review of activities to the CSC Member States on decisions taken at the 6th NSA level meeting in Mauritius in December 2023. Grouped as five pillars of cooperation the subjects include Maritime Safety and Security, Countering Terrorism and Radicalisation, Combating Trafficking and Transnational Organised Crime, Cyber Security and Protection of Critical Infrastructure and Technology and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief. The members discussed ways of enhancing cooperation through training and capacity building. They reiterated their commitment to the vision and objectives of CSC.<\/p>\n

China will take note of Operation Sagar Bandhu as it has demonstrated an operational framework for assistance. The same applies probably to Turkiye, which is taking baby steps to build a naval coalition with Pakistan and Maldives.<\/p>\n

*Col R Hariharan VSM, a retired MI specialist on South Asia and terrorism, served as the head of intelligence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka 1987-90. He is associated with the Chennai Centre for China Studies.\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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