Sri Lankans Panic Over a Tsunami Drill Announcement as a Real Tsunami Warning Issued by DMC!

With the devastation caused by the massive tsunami that hit Sri Lanka's shores in December 2004 still afresh among many Sri Lankans, the public is very keen on announcements related to tsunamis and other major disaster warnings.

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) is the government body entrusted with the responsibility of informing the general public about the possible threats from Tsunamis, landslides, cyclones, heavy rains, floods, etc. Meanwhile, DMC is also conducting disaster preparedness programs for communities and schoolchildren. But unfortunately, when some irresponsible individuals share the notices released by DMC for such training /mock drills on social media, it can lead to a lot of distress among the public.

Here we look at one such instance where the public was misled by a mock drill announcement letter that made its way to social media.

Social Media Posts

Below is the English content of the viral letter issued under the letterhead of the Disaster Management Center (DMC).

"Tsunami Watch...The people who live near and along the coastal area around the island. An earthquake occurred near Sumatra Island in the Indian Ocean with these preliminary parameters. Earthquakes of the size with 9.2 magnitudes and the potential to generate ocean-wide tsunamis. Therefore, those living near and around the coast are advised to be attentive."

A duty officer of the emergency operation room of DMC had addressed the letter to the Hambantota district assistant director.

However, a very important note at the top of the letter, translated to English as "EXERCISE PURPOSE ONLY," was overlooked by many users, which was the main reason for the confusion.

Some Facebook users also claimed this letter to be an authentic public announcement made by the DMC. Such posts can be reached from here and here. Archived & Archived.

We decided to do a fact-check and learn more about the background of this letter.

Fact Check

As this letter went viral on the 2nd March evening, the same day, a 5.6-magnitude Earthquake hit Indonesia's Western Province of West Sumatra. Hence, many Sri Lankans were naturally curious about its implications for the island nation.

However, the Department of Meteorology of Sri Lanka issued a notice on March 2nd afternoon, clarifying that there wasn't any tsunami warning related to Sri Lanka, as seen below.

DMC officials also clarify that there's no Tsunami threat to Sri Lanka

To learn more about the viral letter, we contacted the Assistant Director of the Disaster Management Centre, Pradeep Kodippili. He clarified that this letter was never meant to be released to the public and that the data included were only hypothetical details, which they use for training purposes only.

Pradeep went on to say that the letter was a part of the Tsunami preparatory program, which was held on 2nd March in Southern Province with the participation of school children.

Below is the clarification the Disaster Management Center issued, highlighting that the letter was issued solely for training purposes only.

Archived

Meanwhile, the Assistant Director for media and public relations of DMC, Janaka Hadunpathiraja, says in a media statement that a Tsunami preparatory program targeting the high-risk schools in Southern Province is being conducted these days, and the letter was intended only for such exercise.

We also noticed that a few such tsunami drills were held in Sothern Province during the last few days, as seen here and here.

However, the Assistant Director added that an officer who attended such a program on 2nd March uploaded the mock letter to Facebook, which was misleadingly shared.

He further explains that one of the programs commenced on 1st March and will be completed today, 3rd March. Therefore, DMC Assistant Director requested the public not to become disturbed by such misleading content and call the hotline number of the DMC, 117, to get clarifications about the actual warnings related to any possible disaster, pertaining to Sri Lanka.

However, this is not the first time the Sri Lankan public panicked over a Tsunami Drill. Read our fact check from 2020, where a similar situation led to chaos in the coastal town of Beruwala.

Fact Check: Letter For A Tsunami Drill Misinterpreted As A Genuine Tsunami Alert

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Conclusion

Our investigation found that the viral social media letter is only a part of the mock drill conducted by the DMC targeting schoolchildren and is not related to any actual tsunami warning scenario. DMC officials clarify that from 1^st to 3^rd March, a Tsunami preparatory program is being held targeting some of the high-risk schools lying in the coastal line of Southern Province in Sri Lanka, and the letter was posted by one of the officials in this program, which had led to the confusion among the public.