The ONE DAY of rain on
May 26th 2017 seems to have caused an unexpected calamity of deaths
in ALL the affected districts primarily of earthslips of one sort or another
caused by the rain, that came down in buckets within a short period, and not by
drowning in the resulting floods.
It is now accepted that
this is to be blamed NOT as an ACT OF GOD, but due to man’s own destruction of
the environment. I do not wish to comment here on the complete unpreparedness
of the Disaster Relief Ministry to cope with this situation as that is another
topic. I wish to concentrate on a means of keeping the public aware of their
own status vis a vis potential hazards and the necessary precautions that MUST
be taken in order to minimize the loss of life in future.
We know there are too
many public servants, but too little for the important tasks that they are
responsible for, but have not been sufficiently resourced! It then begs the
question “why aren’t the resources properly allocated to meet the needs of the
Public who these SERVANTS are required to protect?”
It is this latter
question that I will concentrate on as it relates to the avoidance of THE LOSS
OF LIFE arising from a relatively small amount of rain. Just imagine if it had
rained continuously for three days! DO we then assume the loss of life would
exceed 500? That is the issue THAT MUST BE TACKLED immediately and IS NOT
addressed in the Media or by any of the pundits be they experts or in Govt.
responsible for alerting the public to the dangers lurking
It is NO secret and
frankly commonly accepted by the people that the landslides are now occuring
due to the destruction of the land, by quarrying, cutting mountains for soil
and removing the trees that keep the soil together. IF that is so, then it is
NO secret that this problem will get worse and NOT better. Let us me mindful
that loss of life occurred in MANY places all at once and NOT one huge
earthslip. This means that the land is severly degraded and this problem with
only get worse and NOT better.
The science of
earthslips is now advanced, and there is a public organization called the NBRO
that alerts people to the areas that are prone to earthslips. My recommendation
is thus! We IMMEDIATELY map all the GN divisions in the Country, requesting the
GNs (Grama Niladaris) to map out initially the areas within their purveiw that
are most likely at risk of earthslips or poorly constructed retaining walls
meant to hold back such earthslips.
Once this database is
computerized, the Govt. should direct the necessary resources by seconding
public servants in areas that they are NOT productive in to independently
verify these areas and perhaps spot others that have NOT been identified by the
GNs as a FIRST STEP, as a matter of independent verification and for them to
color code initially into three categories of severity or likelihood of
immediate calamity, if the soil is saturated.
THEN EVERY HOUSEHOLDER
KNOWS their plight, and when a warning is issued, know that if they do not
vacate they are in danger of dying! It is in the public’s interest that this
step be taken, as otherwise householders are living in serious danger, and any
more rain in this monsoon season means we have NO idea who will fall victim,
and the victims themselves are unaware of the DANGER THEY ARE CURRENTLY IN.
This plan must be
implemented without delay if we are to reduce the loss of life from minor
rains, and NO TELLING what will happen if we have extended rains where soil
saturation could conceivably cause untold level of earthslips.
One problem I foresee
with this plan is that the recipients themselves DO NOT wish to have their
homes SO CATEGORIZED as it will affect the value of their homes. By extension,
when they want to value or sell their home, they will be asked to furnish what
category their home is or if it is NOT given, this information will be freely
available through the Fredom of Information Act, and so will be common
knowledge as this database is essential for planners, disaster relief and for
obtaining building permission etc.
It is therefore going
to be the very people who are most seriously affected who will not wish this
proposal to go through because of this fear. Frankly, they would prefer to die
in a landslide than get their home categorized and known publicly as in danger
of being destroyed by an earthslip!
It is therefore
essentail that the President, in the interests of public safety use his power,
NOT TO PLAY POLITICS and implement this in the public interest.
One important point
regarding landslides and floods that MUST not go unnoticed, and that is those
who suffer are always the poorest in our midst, and those who cause the
landslides and floods are some of the richest in our midst. It is therefore
very important that the mass destruction of forests, and the constructions that
obstruct the natural flow of rivers and streams, that have led to the problem
are prevented in the future, and all illegal constructions removed. A rapid
reforestation plan MUST put in place, and people discouraged from building
homes in future, in areas that are prone to landslides by NOT permitting them
or re-zoning land for forest ONLY. (public or private)