Third Meeting of the Select Committee – February 24, 2005

The third meeting of the Parliament Select Committee on Natural Disasters was attended by representatives of the Armed Forces and Police.

The officials present were Vice Admiral Daya Sandagiri, Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy; Lieutenant General Shantha Kottagoda, Commander of the Sri Lanka Army; Air Marshall Donald Perera, Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force; Chandra Fernando, Inspector General of Police; Jayantha Wickramaratne, DIG Crimes; Major General Susil Chandrapola of the Sri Lanka Army; and Major General T T R de Silva of the Sri Lanka Army.

The Chairman of the Committee, Mr Mahinda Samarasinghe, took this opportunity to commend the efforts of the Armed Forces and Police in the aftermath of the tsunami, and emphasized that this meeting was not one to highlight shortcomings but to gather knowledge for future reference.

It was concluded that there was a definite lack of knowledge about the tsunami phenomenon and lack of preparedness on the part of the public and authorities.

Thus the Armed Forces and Police believe that educating the public on environmental phenomena, responsibly utilizing the media, coordination amongst different authorities, and developing community-based awareness systems are the best methods to tackle future natural disasters.