Sri Lanka: Fishermen's tragedy exposes early-warning gaps

Amantha Perera reports for Alertnet the story of 14 fishermen who died for having no warning of an approaching storm despite a government mandate to improve early warning systems in Sri Lanka following the 2004 Asian tsunami that wracked the country’s coast. "There has been so much talk about early warning since the tsunami, but when it is really needed, we get nothing," said Thakshila Damayanthi, a young woman who is also an elected member of the local urban council.

Mudalihamige Rathnayake, head of the geography department at Ruhunu University also noted that the general public has not been educated about how to respond to warnings. "We need to build awareness on how to react to cyclones, floods or even droughts. Different disasters require different approaches," he said. "At least some of the damage caused by floods in recent years could have been avoided if proper warnings had been issued," he added.