Social media platforms such as Facebook are inundated with photos and videos of people engaging in various recreational activities in flooded areas. Some freely jump into water bodies with increased water levels, some swim and freely roam around in flooded residential areas, and some make TikTok videos in areas where floods have receded.

It all seems fun, and as some who are active on social media platforms have said, it is “harmless fun” which those affected by floods deserve to take during this stressful time. Some have also mentioned how they engaged in similar activities during floods in their childhood, and how such did not cause any health-related issues.

However, times have changed. As per medical experts, these activities are not as harmless as they seem, and there is a significant risk of communicable diseases spreading during this time of natural disasters. Floods are a key concern because of contaminated water sources, and the Colombo Municipal Council has warned of a major risk of communicable diseases spreading in the context of the recent floods. Cautioning about this situation, medical experts advise people to consume only boiled or bottled water in order to prevent diseases such as diarrhoea and leptospirosis (commonly known as rat fever). These experts further recommend thoroughly washing fruits and vegetables and also avoiding raw produce. Public Health Inspectors are tasked with providing the necessary guidance to the people, as per the authorities, and the relevant instructions have also been shared by those active on social media platforms.

At a time when tens of thousands of people have lost their properties including houses, livelihoods, the peace of mind, and the daily routine, these health-related warnings and instructions may seem less important. At the same time, due to the people’s tendency to make light of instructions that are simple, the Government, the medical experts, and the relevant authorities have a responsibility to go beyond issuing instructions. As part of the overall disaster management and response efforts, it is important to spread the necessary knowledge and instructions through grassroots level officials, activists, and disaster management workers. In addition, social media-based awareness raising would be effective in this endeavour. These awareness raising programmes should make it a priority to communicate the public responsibility related aspect of this situation to the masses.

However, disaster preparedness and resilience are not just the responsibility of the Government, the medical experts, or the authorities. A large part of this responsibility lies with the public, at the individual, household and community levels. What the authorities can do is extremely limited, especially without the public’s cooperation and in these challenging times. Therefore, the public must take the situation seriously, and understand that even seemingly harmless activities in flooded areas have the potential to place people’s lives at risk.

The country is in a financial crisis, and we all know that the amount of financial, medical and human resources that the Government can allocate for disaster management efforts as well as the financial resources that the public can spend to deal with potential health issues are extremely limited. Therefore, it is also crucial to understand and communicate at the community level that being careful about one’s conduct during natural disasters such as floods is something that each person should do for themselves. Adults in families, community leaders, activists, and other prominent figures have a great responsibility in this regard.

The existing weather-related crisis has already proved difficult to handle with the available resources, and that is why the support of volunteers and donors has been requested. In this context, refraining from exacerbating the existing crisis by engaging in risky activities is the least that anyone can do for themselves and for their near and dear.