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.
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.
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