Sri Lanka: The Government of Australia supports disaster risk reduction initiatives in Kalmunai Town, in partnership with UN-Habitat

Kalmunai, Sri Lanka - Throughout the recent past, an increase in localized disasters in Sri Lanka has resulted in the need for improved disaster preparedness and response capacity at the Local Government level. Responding to this need, the Disaster Resilient City Development Strategies for Sri Lankan Cities Project, funded by the Government of Australia, was implemented by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) to establish sustainable, disaster resilient and healthy cities in disaster prone, laggingregions of the country. Kalmunai, one of four cities selected for assistance, successfully demonstrated its commitment towards making the city disaster resilient by including an innovative flood-risk mitigation pilot project.

Kalmunai Municipality, with a total population of 99,634, was chosen for support by the project in March 2012. Located in the Eastern Province, the town was selected due to its vulnerability to multiple disasters such as storm surges, cyclones, tsunami and flooding, its declaration as an urban development area and its lack of a Development and Land Use Plan. Implemented by UN-Habitat in collaboration with the Kalmunai Municipal Council, University of Moratuwa, Urban Development Authority and the Ministry of Disaster Management, the main aim of the project was to set Kalmunai on the path to becoming a sustainable, disaster resilient and healthy city.

While the key output for Kalmunai was the development of a Disaster Risk Reduction and Preparedness Plan, the project also provided funds to implement a Disaster Risk  Reduction (DRR) pilot project to enhance the town’s resilience to disasters In keeping with the consultative, community-centred approach followed by UN-Habitat, Kalmunai
residents and the Municipal Council were responsible for the selection of the pilot project. Following extensive stakeholder consultations with active participation by community members, the city selected a drainage project in one of the flood prone areas of the city.

Udayar Road is 1.5 km long and is located in the centre of Kalmunai town in a key residential area. The road and the surrounding neighbourhood have been subject to severe flooding for the past 15 years, affecting the lives of nearly 200 families. The flooding of the area had been exacerbated due to the lack of a proper drainage system
to discharge flood waters to a coastal water-body and the Indian Ocean.