In the aftermath of the cyclonic storm Ditwah, Sri Lanka once again confronts a familiar but unresolved challenge. That is disaster response that prioritises immediate relief while neglecting the systems people need to rebuild their lives. As floodwaters recede and landslide risks subside, the real crisis for many affected families is not only the loss of homes and livelihoods, but also the loss of access to services and support.
Across some of the worst flood affected and landslide prone areas, thousands of people are yet to receive pension notices. Many no longer possess bank passbooks, debit or credit cards, or even national identity cards as the relevant documents have been washed away or destroyed during the recent disaster. Without these, accessing bank-related services is virtually impossible. Relief schemes, compensation payments, pensions and social assistance may exist on paper, but for those without documentation, they remain out of reach.
This gap exposes a serious challenge Sri Lanka’s disaster management framework should address. It seems to assume the affected people can access relief systems even after the foundations of their identity and financial access have been almost erased. The result is a cruel paradox. The state provides food aid, but people cannot receive cash assistance. Temporary shelters are offered, but long-term housing support is delayed because beneficiaries cannot prove who they are. Survival is addressed, but recovery is stalled.
The consequences are especially severe for vulnerable groups. Kidney patients dependent on regular treatment and pregnant and lactating mothers require consistent access to health services and Government assistance. For many of them, hospital records, clinic books and prescriptions have been lost along with their homes. Without replacement documentation or official verification, they risk missing life-saving medication and essential care. In a country already struggling with healthcare access, this is a serious risk.
What is urgently needed is a shift from passive relief delivery to proactive state intervention. Government mobile services must be deployed immediately to address documentation- and care-related issues in disaster hotspots. These units should not be symbolic visits or one-off clinics, but fully empowered teams capable of issuing replacement national identity cards, restoring lost civil documents, and coordinating with banks to re-establish financial access. Linking renewed identity documents to bank accounts and issuing replacement ATM, or debit and credit cards, should be treated as a priority.
The technology and institutional capacity necessary for these efforts already exist. Sri Lanka has previously demonstrated that mobile documentation drives are possible during elections and special registration campaigns. There is no justification for delay when people’s livelihoods and access to aid depend on these documents. Disaster response cannot stop at food parcels alone. Instead, it must restore the mechanisms through which people can stand on their own feet again.
Equally important is the role of the health authorities. Patients receiving long-term treatment who have lost medical records must be provided with replacements through hospitals and regional health offices. Verification processes should be simplified during this disaster period, with affidavits or community-level confirmation temporarily accepted. No patient should be denied medicine or healthcare because a flood washed away a piece of paper.
Housing remains another unresolved issue. Food distribution, while essential, does not address the deeper insecurities faced by families who no longer have a place to live. Without access to relief payments, compensation or even reconstruction grants declared by the government, displaced people are trapped in temporary shelters or unsafe conditions. This is not merely a humanitarian concern. Recovery cannot be measured by the number of meals served, but by whether families can rebuild stable, independent lives.
Responsibility for addressing these gaps does not rest with the Government alone. Authorities at all levels must be pushed to act decisively, and civil society organisations, activists and community leaders have a crucial role to play. Advocacy must move beyond highlighting suffering to demanding concrete administrative solutions. Monitoring the delivery of mobile services, documenting failures and supporting the voices of affected communities are essential to ensure accountability.
The weather-related disasters caused by Ditwah is not an isolated event. Climate-induced disasters are becoming more frequent as the global weather is worsening. If Sri Lanka continues to respond with short-term relief while ignoring systemic access issues, the human cost will only grow. The lesson from this disaster is clear -recovery begins not just with food and shelter, but with restoring identity and access.