7 October 2023 04:58 am Views - 366
The Monsoon season, as it has been since time immemorial, is with us again. Our country experiences two Monsoon seasons -the Southwest Monsoon from June to September and the Northeast Monsoon between October and December.
During this time we also witness disasters such as flooding and landslides, which trigger displacement and sometimes death and injury.
Figures from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (iDMC) reveal more than 121,000 internal displacements were recorded in 2021, a significant increase on the figure for 2020 and the highest recorded since 2017.
Two widespread flooding events accounted for most of the displacements. Heavy Monsoon rains led to floods that triggered 50,000 displacements during the first week of June. Many of the districts affected, such as Colombo, Gampaha, Kegalle and Kalutara, had also been flooded weeks earlier.
Floods and landslides struck again in November that year, triggering more than 65,000 displacements.
In the first half of this year, drought-like conditions affected the country and resulted in a drop in water levels in reservoirs.
According to the National Disaster Relief Service Centre (NDRSC), nearly 150,000 people across 10 districts lacked safe drinking water. Jaffna, Ampara, and Batticaloa were the hardest hit.
Around 50,000 farmers were also affected due to a lack of irrigation water in reservoirs. Farmers came out in protest demanding water for crops.
In early July the drought ended, and heavy rains broke out. Over 6,500 people across 14 districts have already been adversely affected. The DMC estimated that 1,214 families were affected and 1,145 houses were reported damaged.
Floods, landslides, wash-away and extended periods of dry weather are near annual occurrences and we witness them year-in and year-out. At the same time, newer data and information on weather patterns are becoming available to authorities from satellites.
Unfortunately neither the scientists nor bureaucrats who man our planning ministries seem to be able to draw up comprehensive risk management plans to mitigate the disasters which occur with monotonous regularity, during these periods.
The response of governments has been limited to doling out relief to the affected victims when disaster strikes. Cannot we implement plans beforehand to mitigate well-known risks?
It is well-known that river beds, reservoirs and tanks continue to be filled up by soil and wash away from hills denuded during the setting up of the plantation industry. This continues to this day via illegal felling of forests. Some of the results have been flooding, population displacement and loss of agricultural produce.
Can we not implement plans to build up river banks, and dredge reservoirs and tanks which supply water to the farming population? Do we not have the knowledge to plant large trees amidst the plantation crops which would mitigate the wash-away of the topsoil? Large trees were planted at regular intervals for this purpose.
Yet, political stooges are permitted to cut down these giant trees to make a quick buck through the sale of the wood! Should not those responsible for these crimes be prosecuted?
During the first half of this year, we faced a prolonged period of dry weather. Could not the dried-up tank beds be dredged to help greater water collection during the dry spells? Should not waterways and channels be cleared before the Monsoon rains set in?
During the Monsoon rains our cities go underwater. Thousands of families get displaced. The children of the victim families lose out on their education. Large trees are often toppled as a result of the strong winds which accompany the Monsoon. This was highlighted yesterday (6 July) when a large tree in the heart of the city toppled onto a passenger bus killing five persons (As of writing this column) and injuring around thirty others.
This incident and others were by and large, all preventable disasters. Is anyone going to take responsibility for the loss of lives which occurred yesterday? Will the Mayor resign his/her post? Will those responsible for ensuring the roads are safe for road users be taken to task?
Most likely not. Instead, we will probably witness another round of passing the buck and possibly the appointment of yet another committee to ‘look into the causes’ of the incident.