The Role of Disaster Communication in Cyclone Ditwah, Sri Lanka
Authors
Lecturer, Department of Mass Media, Sri Palee Campus, University of Colombo (Colombo)
Article Information
DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS.2025.91200111
Subject Category: Communication
Volume/Issue: 9/12 | Page No: 1494-1497
Publication Timeline
Submitted: 2025-12-10
Accepted: 2025-12-17
Published: 2026-01-01
Abstract
Over a million people were affected by the massive flooding, landslides, infrastructure collapse, and humanitarian disaster caused by Cyclone Ditwah, which hit Sri Lanka in late November 2025. This article looks at how well disaster communication systems performed during Ditwah, highlights significant shortcomings, particularly in terms of timely notifications and linguistic inclusivity, and analyzes how these shortcomings affected the catastrophe's scope. Recommendations for improving disaster communication systems to better serve all communities are included in the article's conclusion.
Keywords
It is often acknowledged that a key component of disaster risk reduction is effective disaster communication
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References
1. Colombo Telegraph. (2025, December). Why Sri Lanka Was Unprepared For Cyclone Ditwah? Colombo Telegraph. Colombo Telegraph+1 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]
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