A mobile-based early warning and risk-sharing system for Kalutara District

Community users sharing their experience about the mobile application in Maragahadeniya, Baduraliya, Kalutara

With inflation above 40%, the economic crisis in Sri Lanka is undoubtedly the main focus in the country despite the potential threat of natural hazards that could make the situation even worse. During the rainy seasons, many mountainous communities as well as the communities living in the flood-prone low lands in Kalutara prepare themselves for landslides and floods. Beyond their indigenous knowledge, present day local communities expect to receive early hazard warnings from disaster management agencies as well as the ability to relay local hazard incidents to disaster management agencies and others living in their area.   

The MOBILISE digital innovation project, which is a collaborative venture between the Kalutara District Secretariat, National Building Research Organization, Tecxal Systems Ltd., and the Salford University in the UK, has developed a modern mobile app called MOBISense for receiving such hazard early warning messages for various communities in Sri Lanka. MOBISense links the communities, digital volunteers, and officers from various technical agencies to issue early warnings in advance of possible hazards such as landslides and floods.   

"The application offers functionality for users to receive multiple  hazard information for the area they are living in as well as other  areas of interest"

This novel mobile app has now been trialed in Kalutara involving community members from Maragahadeniya and Baduraliya. The application offers functionality for users to receive multiple hazard information for the area they are living in as well as other areas of interest. Moreover, the users could upload any hazard event they observe in their locality. Such hazard information uploaded by the community can be instantly received and responded to by the officers of the NBRO, Kalutara District Secretariat (and its District Disaster Management Center), volunteers and other technical agencies.   

The early evaluation result of the mobile application with the community has been very positive. The test subjects have recognized the application as a useful source of hazard information. This mobile app has been their first experience with a mobile-based risk -information-sharing system. While some villages are comfortable using the application through smartphones, many others are relying on their young family members to help with their smartphones. The application’s ability to provide location-specific hazard information was appreciated by the community users. Similarly, the ability to upload local data when there is a query about a local event was recognised as a highly useful feature. The ability to report events with photo and video evidence was identified as a powerful method for the community to actively participate in disaster risk reduction. Moreover, users were pleased to see that the hazard predictions made with the indigenous knowledge can be compared with the information received with the application. Through the app, they were able to observe flood warnings as well as the landslide warning issued by two technical agencies, simultaneously, thus providing useful information for taking action to safeguard their loved ones and livelihoods.   

"Users could upload any hazard event they observe in their locality"

Many communities in Kalutara as well as many hazard-prone terrains in the country are living with risks. Their living and livelihoods largely depend on having precise hazard early warnings. Because people are increasingly using smart devices, the availability of a mobile application that offers situational intelligence from multiple trusted sources such as technical agencies and respected community volunteers presents a practical solution for minimizing disaster risk.   

It is the expectation of the MOBILISE team to deploy the MOBISense app across Sri Lanka by working with the appropriate government agencies in the near future.