ABSTRACT
Some commentators have characterized the tsunami of 26
December 2004 as the worst natural disaster ever recorded in
the known history of modern Sri Lanka (de Silva 2005).1
Many observers do not realize that the malaria epidemic of
19341935 was far more devastating in terms of mortality caused, the official death toll attributed to the epidemic and
the accompanying famine being 80,000 as compared to the
official death toll of 40,000 attributed to the tsunami. While
the tsunami devastated the coastal belts of eastern and
southern Sri Lanka within the space of less than one hour,
the 19341935 epidemic unfolded over nearly 15 months across central Sri Lanka with debilitating long-term con-
sequences. It is important to point out that the 19341935 epidemic played an important role in the development of
civil society, the emergence of the Sri Lankan welfare state
and the formation of key players of this welfare state,
including nationalist and leftist leaders. Sri Lanka has
experienced a spate of man-made and natural disasters in
more recent years, including civil war, floods, landslides, and
cyclones. A more historically grounded understanding of
these disasters and the relevant responses from state, civil
society and international agencies is needed in order to,
firstly, assess their overall impact on society, culture and
patterns of development or underdevelopment, and sec-
ondly, to evolve suitable humanitarian and developmental
responses that build on local strengths, capacities and
adaptations. This paper seeks to arrive at a historically
informed understanding of the impact of and response to
natural disasters, paying special attention to the outcomes of
the 19341935 epidemic and the tsunami of 2004. Unlike the malaria epidemic of 19341935, which received
considerable publicity only in Sri Lanka and, to a limited
extent in Britain, the tsunami of 26 December 2004 was a
uniquely globalized event, closely and instantly watched
through the global electronic media worldwide, with a
resulting humanitarian response of an unprecedented mag-
nitude. The 19341935 disaster was due to an unfortunate conflation of natural disaster (drought) and an epidemic
disease (malaria). The progressive neglect of the Sri Lankan
peasantry by the colonial state itself was an important factor
contributing to the epidemic and the famine associated with
it. Many members of the Sri Lankan elite became fully aware
of poverty and deprivation in the countryside at the time
through the widely publicized effects of this disaster and this,
in turn, shaped the development of a range of civil society
organizations responding to the relevant needs. More
importantly, the Sri Lankan political leadership in the last
years of colonial rule responded to the situation by
formation of a welfare state, with universal free health
care, free education, and the establishment of peasant
colonization schemes as key pillars of this welfare state.
