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Purpose Even though Sri Lanka has established Early Warning (EW) mechanisms and Evacuation Procedures (EP) for the communities affected by the coastal disasters, there are several gaps, which hinder effective mechanisms in operation of disaster management practices. These gaps affect both the vulnerable communities and relevant authorities involved in the Disaster Management sector. This paper aims to identify and evaluate those gaps while providing adequate solutions. Design/methodology/approach For that, questionnaire surveys were carried out with a sample size of 217 via an online survey (117) among the urban level and interviews and telephone interviews (100) with the village level coastal communities. Data analysis was carried out using statistical analysis of questionnaire surveys and grounded theory was used for in-depth qualitative study. Findings Primary and secondary data obtained from the surveys were categorized under five themes, namely, response to early warning systems, evacuation routes, shelters, drills and training, effect of having a family vehicle, relatives and domestic animals, evacuation of people with special needs and cooperation with local government units. This paper analyses these themes in detail. Originality/value While critically evaluating the gaps in existing early warning mechanisms and evacuation procedures, this paper identifies correlations between some of the gaps and recommendations as well. Input from the international academics were also obtained at different forums and have strengthen the findings to overcome the barriers, which hinder successful mechanisms.

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This research is carried out to evaluate important community resilience aspects of coastal districts in Sri Lanka and to provide suitable recommendations to strengthen them. After carrying out an indepth literature survey and interviewing key personnel who are involved in the field of Disaster Management and Disaster Risk Reduction, existing status of the coastal hazards, multi-hazard assessments, early warning mechanisms, national policies, guidelines and efforts and regional cooperation were identified. During the literature survey, it was observed that Sri Lanka has developed a Hazard profile for the country and has an Early Warning Dissemination System which seems to function quite well by the book. What is more, the country is in the process of orienting the existing national policies and guidelines with the post 2015 global standards such as the Sendai framework and Sustainable Development Goals. Sri Lanka being a member of Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (IOTWMS) and Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES) depicts that the country has a good regional cooperation in terms of Early Warning. Even though Sri Lanka lacks efficient and sustainable resilience mechanisms focused on the coastal communities, national efforts are underway to build up the coastal resilience. Training and public awareness campaigns, efficient funds, properly maintained hierarchy and concern to the coastal ecosystems are some of the enablers identified in this study which are associated in building coastal resilience. Developing and updating a multi-hazard map, improving the interagency cooperation and driving towards a people-centred Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS) are some of the recommendations given after the analysis Keywords-coastal resilience; early warning systems; hazard assessments; Sri Langkan coastal.

Purpose The current National Early Warning System for Sri Lanka (NEWS: SL) was established after the devastations of the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004. Although early warning (EW) systems and evacuation procedures are in place, several areas which need improvements have been emphasized in recent studies carried out in the country. Therefore, this paper aims to outline the gaps in existing EW and EP related to tsunami and other coastal hazards with a special focus on the use of social media for disaster communication based on age groups. Design/methodology/approach This study has drawn on a review of past studies carried out by the same research team to identify the scope of the study. In addition to that, a conceptual framework was developed for the use of social media in the event of a disaster. Based on this conceptual framework, an online questionnaire was administered to identify the current status of the use of social media in Sri Lanka during a disaster situation. In total, 408 responses were collected and analyzed using the binary logistic regression method to evaluate the variation of different predictors associated with the use of social media for disaster communication. Findings Findings of the study revealed that the use of social media for disaster communication depends on the previous experience of users and their age. The gender of users does not affect the use of social media for disaster communication. Therefore, the accuracy and timeliness of disaster information distributed via social media should be improved further to enhance the use of social media for disaster communication. Moreover, the findings have highlighted unaddressed issues in areas such as governance; communication of technical agencies; evacuation and shelters; and response of the community. Originality/value This paper has identified key areas that need attention in the process of enhancing the use of social media for disaster communication. More use of technological platforms such as social media for receiving disaster-related information can address issues such as bottlenecks in communication, poor awareness and lack of last-mile dissemination. Furthermore, this paper has proposed recommendations for addressing the identified gaps in the overall EW mechanisms and EP pertaining to tsunamis and other coastal hazards to enhance the coastal disaster resilience in Sri Lanka.