Bad record of floods and landslides

Weather gods have hit our country in a very bad way. The worst affected are the poor living in small houses.

A few places have been observed to be adversely affected whenever it rains hard. They are Baddegama and Ratnapura. The same areas are also prone to landslides, especially in the hill country. The National Building Research Organization (NBRO) has been very efficient at warning people in landslide-prone areas. But they do it only during a disaster situation, and sometimes the warning comes a little too late for people to evacuate.

The recent rains have affected areas such as Mannar, Puttalam and Jaffna, areas that have not experienced floods in a long time. As such, the people there were not prepared for the deluge they experienced.

Torrential rains and floods, like what we experienced this month, did not occur during the last century or before. There were many landslides, some of them resulting in entire families being buried alive! Almost all these victims were not well to do, and they do not have the wherewithal to rebuild the houses that have been completely buried.

The torrential rains resulted in most of the reservoirs being filled to the brim and the sluice gates had to be opened, inundating surrounding areas. If there was a tank cascade system, the extra water could have been saved for better use.

It is time the authorities concerned take necessary precautionary measures, to ensure that the water flows freely without creating floods. The Disaster Management Centre, with the assistance of the NBRO and the Engineers of the Department of Irrigation, should resolve this eternal problem, by identifying landslide prone areas, areas that flood regularly, and take remedial measures to prevent future disasters of this nature, so that no more innocent lives are lost.

HM NISSANKA WARAKAULLE