Digital Data Dissemination:

Move towards better disaster preparedness

The Survey Department and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) signed an agreement for Digital Data Dissemination on Thursday in a bid to mitigate the effects of disasters. The agreement, the first of its kind between the government and the United Nations, allows for organisations to use government's geographic data for disaster management purposes.

In the last 34 years, natural disasters have killed more than 37,000 Sri Lankans.

Heavy monsoon rains triggered devastating floods in parts of the country, affecting 1.2 million people in November 2010. Thousands of families lost their livelihoods. Some 30,000 houses were partially damaged or completely destroyed and 300,000 hectares of rice paddy was ruined. The economic cost of disasters over the last 10 years exceeded Rs 257 billion.

Challenges arise for national authorities and partners when responding to a major disaster: recording the damage to housing, infrastructure, and services; tracking displaced people; distributing food and water; and coordinating the work of humanitarian organisations. Ensuring organisations use the same geographic data is essential if information is to be shared quickly with the government, as well as other humanitarian partners.

Surveyor General of the Survey Department Mahesh Fernando said the agreement will assist in addressing information gaps in disaster management by improving how disaster related information is analyzed and facilitating better decision making. The government and UNOCHA underscored the pivotal role that common data standards make towards making disaster preparedness and response activities more efficient and effective.

Head of UNOCHA Sri Lanka Brendan McDonald said the agreement was an example of the government's commitment to the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action which was adopted by the government in 2005 at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction, Japan.

He said the agreement also reflected how the government and the United Nations work together to build sustainable partnerships in advance of disasters.