by Ramesha Balasuriya

02 July 2003

Bonn, Germany: On 20 June, UNDP Sri Lanka bade farewell to the team of Indian UN Volunteers who assisted the Government of Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the worst floods experienced by the country in over 50 years. The Volunteers were facilitated through the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator within hours of devastation, and they continued to assist the Government Agents of the areas worst affected by the floods for one month in streamlining information, damage assessment and distribution of relief. They also acted as focal points at district level for local and international donor assistance.

"They proved a very valuable source of support, and, no doubt, helped enhance the Government's effectiveness in dealing with the disaster," said Miguel Bermeo, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative and UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka.

The torrential rains hit five districts in the South of Sri Lanka; Ratnapura, Matara, Kalutara, Hambantota and Galle districts, resulting in most serious flooding and landslides which has directly affected some150,000 families, or 600,000 people. Latest reports record 235 deaths, 9,503 completely damaged houses displacing 138,934 families, and a further 30,688 partially damaged houses.

"On hearing of the extent of devastation in the flood hit areas of Sri Lanka, my impulse was to seek immediate assistance from nearby India, which has experience in facing similar emergencies generated by floods. I was aware it already possessed a well-tested team." Mr. Bermeo said.

Ms. Sarathseeli De Silva, the Divisional Secretary of the Matara District, in the flood affected village of Thihagoda (meaning 30 high lands) found the support of the Volunteers "a great help and blessing".

"I've never faced this type of flood in my life," she said. "Usually, in this type of calamity we forget how to respond to emerging needs and priorities of communities, other than getting involved in relief measures and sharing their sob stories. But, they kept us focused also on the requirements needed in relation to planning the recovery phase, which is most crucial to the affected communities."

According to Ms. De Silva, 81 percent of land under paddy cultivation in her Division has been destroyed, keeping agricultural labourers out of work till the next paddy-growing season.

Mr. G. Hewawitharana, the Government Agent of Galle, said severe floods affected seven out of the eight Divisional Secretaries in the Galle District. "Water rose at six inches per hour. In some areas the waterlevel was as much as 60 feet," he added, leaving tea estates and tea factories submerged in water. "Tea nurseries are gone, and it will at least another two years before economic activity would begin again in these tea growing areas."

Mr. Hewawitharana has already made preliminary arrangements to set up rural Disaster Management Committees. "All this progress within this short time has been due to the assistance of the Indian UN Volunteers", he said. "They were an asset."

UN Volunteers found their month-long experience to be enriching. Ms. Rita Missal, a UN Volunteer based in Colombo and working closely with the Disaster Operations Room at the office of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe, said the team "felt a bit apprehensive on arrival". She added, however, that the receptiveness of the Sri Lankan Government made their job easier and it helped in building good relations with the officials as well as the communities.

"Our team comprised of members with varying skills, ranging from IT to architectural planning, together with extensive experience in the area of disaster management, including earthquake disaster management. Before coming over to Sri Lanka we had just concluded a flood recovery programme in the State of Orissa. As soon as we were contacted by Mr. Saroj Jha, Assistant Resident Representative, Vulnerability Reduction and Sustainable Environment of UNDP, India, we packed our bags and the first batch of UN Volunteers flew over here within the next 24 hours," she said of the team's first international assignment. “We are happy to leave behind a foundation upon which the Sri Lanka Government can build up a long-term strategy for natural disaster mitigation”, she added.

The team found cultural similarities, which made the work easier. " Our immediate task was relief assistance. But our sustainable goal was to scale up disaster preparedness capacities both at the levels of the Government and the community, which would eventually ensure zero-level loss of life and minimal loss to property," Ms. Missal added.

"Already plans have been drawn up to establish a national UN Volunteer follow-up project to assist the Government of Sri Lanka in its rehabilitation and reconstruction phase," Mr. Bermeo said.

Ms. Okama Ekpe Brook, UNV Programme Officer in Sri Lanka, said five national UN Volunteers have already been placed individually in the districts affected by the floods to continue to extend UNDP's support in the recovery phase. "We hope to recruit five more national UN Volunteers and a coordinator. Together, they can continue to work on the contingency plans for the communities," she said. The national UN Volunteers recruited had a week's understudy period, which enabled them hands-on training at the District Operation Centres in the five districts affected by the floods. They were also made aware of the protocol to be followed in an emergency.

With the improvements in the weather and the water levels subsiding totally, rural water supplies have made satisfactory progress. The Government, which has put in place health surveillance mechanisms to avoid epidemics, is now focusing on education and resettlement of the affected, as well as infrastructure development needs. Prime Minister Wickremasinge has also called for an urgent assessment of 260 sites vulnerable to landslides in the country.

A government document outlining emergency and rehabilitation requirements highlights the need for disaster preparedness and disaster management. It also focuses on health, water and sanitation relief for internally displaced persons, together with education and repairs to infrastructure, as priority needs. With is presence on the ground in all the affected districts; UNDP is well positioned to play a transitional rolein recovery.

Mr. Bermeo is confident that UNDP, with donor assistance, could expand UNDP's Transition Programme in terms of geographical coverage and time dimensions to meet the latest rehabilitation and reconstruction needsof the southern Sri Lanka.