Sri Lanka ready to mark IDDRR highlighting COVID-19 issues

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka will mark the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on Wednesday (13) aimed at highlighting the risks posed by COVID-19.

Major General (Retd) Sudantha Ranasinghe, the Director-General of the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) speaking to News 1st the new normal is the new challenge faced by authorities.

"With COVID-19 the main challenge was making the local actors aware of how best we can combine systemic risks with new normal concepts," he said adding working in collaboration is vital to respond to disasters in the post-COVID era.

DMC is the main custodian of Disaster Management in Sri Lanka, covering early warning, early preparation, early mitigation, awareness, and response to disasters.

"Disasters can enter and exit any country without VISA. It's common to all. Mistakes by one person elsewhere will affect the people in another country. It has to be a global effort and a synergetic effort, where everyone is held responsible and works towards disaster mitigation," he added.

The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction will bring global organizations together with Sri Lanka to address disaster management matters.

"The entire world is interconnected with no boundaries. We need to think globally and plan globally when it comes to hazards," said Prof. Dilanthi Amaratunga, who is a Professor of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Head, Global Disaster Resilience Centre, School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, UK.

"No country or nationality can work on their own when it comes to hazards, it has to be global efforts because of the transboundary nature," she told News 1st.

Sri Lanka will mark the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction at the BMICH on Wednesday (13).