National Council for Disaster Management convenes under patronage of President

THE 16th meeting of the National Council for Disaster Management was held yesterday morning (15) at the Presidential Secretariat under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

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President Anura Kumara Dissanayake

During the meeting, a Cabinet Memorandum was presented on the establishment of a National Integrated Disaster Management Mechanism and on proposed amendments to the Sri Lanka Disaster Management Act, No. 13 of 2005.

Attention was also drawn to reducing landslide risks in plantation areas through a multi-stakeholder approach. In this regard, the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) was tasked with coordinating relevant stakeholders, plantation companies and local authorities to provide recommendations and establish a certification mechanism for activities including the construction and rehabilitation of drainage systems.

The Council further discussed the formulation of a Central Fragile Area Management Plan. This includes the appointment of technical committees, the preparation of an integrated plan by consolidating data from all relevant institutions and the development of a unified digital platform that allows shared access to such data across agencies.

In order to ensure transparency in the coordination of all foreign relief assistance and supplies, approval was granted to establish a Foreign Aid Coordination Committee, along with the delegation of the necessary powers.

The National Council for Disaster Management convened under the President's leadership on 7 August after a lapse of seven years and met again on the night of 27 November in response to an emergency disaster situation. The Council met again today to take policy decisions and provide institutional guidance aimed at restoring normalcy to public life following Cyclone Ditwah.