National Policy on Disaster Management 2010.

The National Policy on Disaster Management is a core component of Sri Lanka’s national regime for disaster management. It articulates agreed overarching principles and preferred outcomes for disaster management in Sri Lanka. It also provides policy directives to address the issues such as inadequate coordination among stakeholders agencies, duplication of efforts and insufficient policy directives to reduce the human and economic impacts of disasters which were identified in the aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami and the other recent disaster situations.
Disaster management should take into account several, intersecting dimensions, which include: a. ‘multi-hazards’ consideration of all kinds of natural, human-induced, and technological events i. Natural hazard: Natural event beyond the control of human being threatening life, property and environment ii. Human induced hazardous – situation created by the intervention of people in natural environment or technology or combination of both. iii. Technological hazards; dangerous situation created by the failure of equipment in the system with or without human interventions; b. ‘multi-phases’ before, during and after disasters (prevention, reduction, mitigation, preparedness, emergency operations, relief, recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction and review); c. ‘multi-sectors’ integration across, inter alia, emergency services, meteorology, human and social services, infrastructure, education and training, health, agricultural, defense, water management, environment, climate change, urban management and others; d. ‘multi-stakeholders’ engagement of national public agencies, the private sector, civil society, the international community and the general public; e. ‘multi-locality’ covering international, regional and national perspectives through to provinces, districts and Grama Niladhari (local communities) across Sri Lanka’s entire territory — land, sea and air; and f. ‘multi-temporal’ planning and decision-making for the short, medium and long term (11).
The intrinsic nature of hazards means that all concerned, not just a single organization, have a role to play to reduce disaster risk and create a culture of safety. In particular: a. Government, non-government, private sector, academic, media, religious and other organizations and individuals have a collective responsibility for disaster management. This includes a responsibility to coordinate and consult with each other, while complying with national security and policy directives. b. Government and non-government organizations, private sector, media and religious organizations and communities should form the basis of efforts to reduce disaster risk and immediately recover from disaster. Integrated systems to reduce disaster risk: 22. National and local government agencies must have strong legal mandates, institutional capacity and information and communication technology (ICT) systems to manage disasters(12). Hazard profiles, vulnerability and risk assessments for multiple hazards should be regularly updated. Areas prone to hazards should be identified for parties to prevent and mitigate impacts. a. Risk analyses should incorporate inter-linkages among disasters, poverty and development. b. Scientific research tools and methods should be available and used to reduce disaster risk. c. Disaster risk reduction activities should integrate climate change adaptation (23).
Equality, diversity and inclusion a. Agencies should target resources based on severity of, and vulnerability to, potential hazards and disasters. b. All people affected by disaster have equal rights to receive assistance and information regardless of ethnicity, gender, religious beliefs, ability or other personal attributes. c. Disaster management should give special consideration to marginalized groups and those with special needs or otherwise vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, senior citizens, the sick, pregnant women, children and displaced persons. d. Disaster management should ensure gender equality and in particular the empowerment of girls and women. e. Special effort should be taken to prevent violence unlawful engagements against entire community during disaster situations (13).