In the month of May 2016, parts of Sri Lanka were hit by the heaviest recorded rainfall in more than 18 years,

which caused severe floods in 24 districts and also horrific landslides, one of which was the worst recorded

in our country. The floods and landslides resulted in the loss of at least 93 lives and affected almost half a

million people. The disaster damaged over 58,000 houses and caused a loss in income for over a million

people dependent on agriculture, trade and industries. In the aftermath, extensive relief operations were

conducted at national, provincial, district as well as divisional levels, significantly supported by the Sri Lanka

Army, Navy and Air Force, civil society organisations, the private sector as well as individual contributions.

As we now move on from the immediate relief phase, the subsequent recovery phase has been initiated

by a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA). This PDNA used a methodology, which was developed

jointly by the United Nations, the World Bank and the European Union. It has been applied after many large

disasters worldwide and has become a standard mechanism by the international community to assess the

damages and losses of the disaster and estimate the recovery needs.