Natural disasters: Scientists to the rescue?

The Presidential Commission on Tsunami Disaster Management has recommended that the authorities evolve a mechanism for scientists to be involved in the decision making structure so that such future calamities could be avoided or minimised. The Commission made this recommendation after expert witnesses said there was no mechanism in place to get the best use of the country’s 2000 to 3000 scientists trained in the best universities in the world .

The Commission revealed that the public had little or no knowledge about tsunamis natural disasters. Experts said action should be taken by the authorities to include the study of natural disasters and disaster management in the school curriculum. Evacuation in times of disaster was another matter which was brought to the notice of the Commission. It was said that many people did not take such advice seriously. The Commission recommended legislation be passed authorizing the issue of evacuation orders once the warnings were issued. For this purpose shelters had to be identified.

The attention of the Commission was drawn to the problem of telecommunication systems being jammed in a crisis situation.
Experts told the Commission that public telecommunication systems were designed to cope with a limited capacity and were designed to shut off non-priority subscribers. The Commission was also told there was a lack of seismologists in the country with the result research on earthquakes had not been carried out in Sri Lanka.

Prof. C A Dissanayake told the Commission the Peradeniya and Moratuwa Universities should make provisions for seismology courses leading to a Ph.D. and Master's Degree. The Commission recommended early action by the University Grants Commission to introduce courses in seismology at Peradeniya and Moratuwa Universities.

The role of the media in an emergency situation also received the attention of the Commission. It told that the media had created serious errors when reporting the earthquake and the tsunami of December 2004. Some of these reports had even affected the integrity of important officials working in certain government institutions. The Commission recommended that both State and private media explore the possibility of having on their staff knowledgeable and trained personnel for such reporting.