Fourth Meeting of the Select Committee – March 1, 2005

Representatives of NARA (National Aquatic Resources and Research Development Authority), the National Disaster Management Centre, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) as well as a psychiatrist attended the fourth meeting of the Parliament Select Committee on Natural Disasters.

Dr Kapila Perera, Chairman of NARA and Mr N D Hettiarachchi, Director of the National Disaster Management Centre, both stated that although their respective organisations had the appropriate expertise, they were understaffed and lacked resources to provide better service.

Dr Perera emphasised the importance of having a central authority that links all institutions and contingency plans together, in order for the efforts in evacuating people, in case of natural disaster or emergency, to be coordinated.

Dr Athula Sumathipala, a psychiatrist attached to the University of London, assessed the harm caused by the tsunami from a psychological point of view. He stressed the need to develop a forensic and genetic facility in Sri Lanka to enable victims to be identified, which would give surviving relatives closure and the opportunity to formally bury their loved ones, instead of a mass burial. He also recommended that the mental health sector be strengthened at a grassroot level by training teachers and members of the armed forces.

The representatives of the IOM and UNDP highlighted the requisite for developing expertise in the field of disaster preparedness in Sri Lanka.

NDM_INDIA MHA_18th Mar'05