Developing a Comprehensive Disaster Preparedness Plan (CDPP) for a selected Grama Niladhari (GN) Division was identified as a priority area by the Disaster Management Center, Sri Lanka. The purpose of this CDPP is to bring all relevant stakeholders together to prepare at – risk communities during disasters. This will facilitate a more collaborative and systematic emergency management approach avoiding duplication of interventions, roles and responsibilities as well as maximum use of available resources.
The aim behind this exercise was to step beyond a mere plan and to formulate a model for emergency response preparedness with realistic and measurable objectives, outputs, and activities that strengthen the coping capacity of the community. This would help in testing the plan through a simulated exercise for responding to a similar scenario like the 2017 floods. After several consultation meetings, Paragoda West GN Division in the Bulathsinhala DS Division of Kalutara District was selected as a pilot to initiate the CDPP. The development of plan exercise was undertaken by SLPP in collaboration with Janathakshan GTE Ltd and Asia Lanka Social Development Co-operation.