Centered around the global theme “Resilience Starts at Home,” the main commemoration program for the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2026 was successfully held today (October 13) at the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) auditorium. The event was presided over by the Director General of the DMC, Major General Sampath Kotuwegoda (Retd), and was organized under his guidance. The critical importance of household-level disaster preparedness and collective action across diverse sectors was strongly emphasized during the event.
Professor P. B. Terney Pradeep Kumara, Director General of the Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management, delivered a lecture on "Building Disaster-Resilient Coastal Communities." Dr. Dayan Munasinghe, Senior Scientist at the National Building Research Institute (NBRO), spoke on the topic "Constructing a Disaster-Resilient Safe Home." Furthermore, Dr. Lahiru Kodituwakku addressed safeguarding health and lives through domestic preparedness for emergencies, while Professor Deepthi Wickramasinghe from the University of Colombo highlighted enhancing community disaster resilience through ecosystem conservation. This program underscored the vital importance of preparedness and collective action at the household level.
හෙට (ඔක්තෝබර් 13) දිනය වන විට ගිනිකොණ දිග බෙංගාල බොක්ක මුහුදු ප්‍රදේශය ආශ්‍රිතව අඩු පීඩන කලාපයක් නිර්මාණය වීමේ හැකියාවක් පවතින බව කාලගුණවිද්‍යා දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව නිවේදනය කරයි. මේ හේතුවෙන් හෙට සිට ඉදිරි දින කිහිපය තුළ දිවයිනේ මෙන්ම දිවයින වටා වන ගැඹුරු සහ නොගැඹුරු මුහුදු ප්‍රදේශවල වැසි තත්ත්වයේ සැලකිය යුතු වැඩි වීමක් බලාපොරොත්තු විය හැක.
මධ්‍යම, සබරගමුව, ඌව සහ දකුණු පළාත්වල ඇතැම් ස්ථානවලට මිලිමීටර් 100-150 ක පමණ තද වැසි ඇතිවිය හැකි අතර, සෙසු ප්‍රදේශවල ඇතැම් ස්ථානවලට මිලිමීටර් 75 ඉක්මවූ තරමක තද වැසි ඇතිවිය හැකි බවට පුරෝකථනය කර ඇත. මීට අමතරව, සබරගමුව, මධ්‍යම සහ ඌව පළාත්වල උදෑසන කාලයේදී මීදුම් සහිත තත්ත්වයක් පැවතිය හැක.
A workshop to review the draft "Build Back Better (BBB) Guideline" was held on October 02 at the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) auditorium, under the chairmanship of Major General (Retd.) Sampath Kotuwegoda, Director General of the DMC.
The guideline was formulated by the DMC with the support of partner agencies to cater to the needs and practical uses of stakeholder institutions involved in the post-disaster rehabilitation and recovery process. The primary objective of the workshop was to review how well this guideline aligns with the operations of these stakeholder agencies, and to finalize the draft by incorporating their constructive feedback, insights, and suggestions.
The guideline comprehensively covers key BBB dimensions, including risk information, climate resilience, land-use planning, resilient design and construction, nature-based solutions, community participation, social inclusion, environmental sustainability, residual risk management, livelihood resilience, governance and coordination, and cost estimation.
Furthermore, the document explains how these dimensions can be practically applied across the five recovery phases: preparedness, damage and needs assessment, planning, implementation, and monitoring and reporting.
During the workshop, participants evaluated the content of the guideline in breakout groups and presented their suggestions regarding its practical application, relevance, and areas for improvement. These inputs will be utilized to refine and formulate the final version of the guideline.
The workshop was organized by the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), with support from international partner organizations, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), and the International Recovery Platform (IRP).
Official Handing Over of Vehicles to Strengthen Relief and Infrastructure Restoration Efforts During Disasters
An official ceremony was held today (10/12) at the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) to hand over a wrecker and a tipper truck to the Sri Lanka Army and the Department of Coast Conservation, aiming to enhance emergency response and restoration capacities within the disaster management framework.
The event, highlighting the significance of civil-military cooperation, was presided over by Major General Sampath Kotuwegoda (Retd), Director General of the DMC; Lieutenant General Nilantha Premaratne, Commander of the Army; and Mr. P.B. Turney Pradeep Kumara, Director General of the Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resources Management.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to operationalize the Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) for the Activation of Anticipatory Action for Floods in the Downstream Gal Oya River Basin in the Ampara District was officially signed with the participation of key government institutions and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
This historic agreement was officially signed by Major General (Retd.) Sampath Kotuwegoda, Director General of the Disaster Management Centre (DMC); Mr. Philip Ward, Country Director and Representative of the WFP in Sri Lanka; Mr. Ajith Wijemanna, Director General of the Department of Meteorology; Mr. Rajalingam Rushandan, Director General of the Partnership Secretariat for WFP Cooperation (PSWFPC); Mr. S. Jegarajan, Additional District Secretary of the Ampara District; Mr. L.S. Sooriyabandara, Director of the Irrigation Department; and Mr. Prageeth Danansuriya, Senior Assistant Secretary of the National Disaster Relief Services Centre (NDRSC).
This milestone establishes a formalized, coordinated approach to anticipatory action, enabling government institutions and partners to work together to provide timely assistance to at-risk communities before flood impacts occur. The SoP outlines clear roles and responsibilities among all stakeholders, supported by forecast-based triggers generated through the collaboration of the Department of Meteorology and the Irrigation Department. Through this mechanism, vulnerable households can receive early assistance from the WFP, helping to safeguard lives, protect livelihoods, and reduce the impacts of flooding.
News & Events
- Resilience Starts at Home: International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction Commemoration
- 13 සිට ඉදිරි දින කිහිපය තුළවැසි වැඩිවේ – ආපදා කළමනාකරණ මධ්‍යස්ථානයෙන් ජනතාවට විශේෂ දැනුම්දීමක්
- Official Handing Over of Vehicles to Strengthen Relief and Infrastructure Restoration Efforts During Disasters
- Workshop to Review the "Build Back Better" Guideline for Post-Disaster Recovery
- Multi-Agency Coalition Signs MoU to Operationalize SoP for Flood Anticipatory Action in the Downstream Gal Oya River Basin
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