When the ground shakes, even for a few seconds, it reminds us just how fragile life really is. Earthquakes are sudden and powerful natural disasters that can cause massive damage to buildings, roads, and even entire cities. They strike without warning, and in a few moments, they can change lives forever. As we watch other countries deal with these disasters, many people in Sri Lanka are starting to ask: What if it happens here? Are we ready?
To answer that, we first need to understand what an earthquake really is. Earthquakes happen when large plates under the Earth’s surface — called tectonic plates — move and press against each other. These plates are always shifting very slowly. But when they get stuck and pressure builds, they can suddenly break free. This quick release of energy shakes the ground, and that’s what we feel during an earthquake. The strength of an earthquake is measured on something called the Richter scale. Each number on the scale means the earthquake is ten times stronger than the number before it. That means an earthquake of six is ten times stronger than one of five.
Tsunami warnings
Over the past few years, many countries have suffered the effects of large earthquakes. In 2023, Turkey and Syria experienced a huge earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people. In 2024, Japan had a big undersea earthquake that caused tsunami warnings, though thankfully, major damage was avoided.
Myanmar and Indonesia, both close to Sri Lanka, have also seen earthquakes. Haiti, Nepal, and New Zealand have also suffered big quakes in recent years.
These events show us that earthquakes can happen almost anywhere, and we should not assume Sri Lanka is completely safe.
Experts in Sri Lanka said that we are not in a high-risk earthquake zone. We are far away from the major tectonic plate boundaries where most strong earthquakes happen. That makes us safer than many other countries. But being in a low-risk zone does not mean there is no risk at all. It only means that earthquakes are less likely — but still possible.
A senior seismologist at the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau, Nilmini Thaldena said, “We don’t get big earthquakes in Sri Lanka, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore the danger. Earthquakes come without warning, and there’s no way to predict them. She said that small tremors —earthquakes under 3.5 in magnitude — have already happened in Sri Lanka. They’re too weak to cause damage, but they prove that the ground under us isn’t totally still.
She said that stronger earthquakes have been recorded in the ocean near Sri Lanka. These could cause tsunamis or shake the ground strongly enough to damage buildings. That’s why she believes we need to make our buildings stronger and teach people what to do in case of an earthquake. “Just because it hasn’t happened doesn’t mean it won’t,” she said.
Spokesperson for the Disaster Management Centre, Pradeep Kodippili said that there is an old record of a possible earthquake in Sri Lanka from the year 1615.” We don’t know if it really happened, but it shows that earthquakes have been on people’s minds for a long time,” he said. His job is to prepare the country for disasters, and he believes preparation is the key.
He and his team travel across the island teaching people about earthquakes. They hand out booklets, do training sessions, and run programs to raise awareness. “We can’t stop earthquakes, but we can prepare for them,” he said. If people know what to do before, during, and after an earthquake, they will be safer. It’s all about education and being ready, he said.
Prof. Rangika Halwathura of the Department of Engineering, University of Moratuwa, said that until recently, Sri Lanka didn’t think about earthquakes when designing buildings. Most buildings were designed with floods, landslides, and wind in mind. Earthquakes were seen as something that didn’t concern us.
Strong structures
“But that is changing now. Some new buildings are being built to resist earthquakes. However, there’s no strong system to check if these buildings are really safe,” he said adding that most buildings built over 20 years ago are not designed to handle earthquakes at all. He also spoke about how building strong structures costs more money. Many people want to build cheaply, which means they might skip safety features.
“We try to balance safety and cost. If we design every building for every disaster, it will be too expensive,” he said adding, “Earthquakes are rare in Sri Lanka, so we don’t build the same way as Japan, where quakes are common.” Still, he believes we should learn to live with nature, not fight it.
He also said that it’s not possible to make buildings that are safe from every kind of disaster. We need to look at what kinds of disasters are most likely to occur in a place, and prepare for those. If we spend too much on protection from something that might never happen, it’s not smart use of money. But if we ignore the risk completely, we might suffer badly if a disaster does happen. It’s all about finding the right balance.
A senior civil engineer, Ranjith Gunathilaka takes a look at history. He said that there are many very old buildings in places such as Colombo that have been standing for hundreds of years. If a big earthquake had happened in the past, those buildings would probably be damaged or destroyed. But they’re still standing strong.
He said Sri Lanka isn’t near the tectonic plate edges where big earthquakes usually happen. That’s why we don’t experience strong earthquakes as Japan does. In countries such as Japan, buildings must be made earthquake-proof. But in Sri Lanka, we don’t need to design buildings that way because the risk is much lower.
He compares it to building houses for snow. “If we don’t have snow in Sri Lanka, there’s no reason to design buildings for it,” he said. The same goes for earthquakes. We build using the information we have about our country’s geography and risks. Yet, he said small tremors are possible. The earth is always moving, even if we can’t feel it. Just because we haven’t had a big earthquake doesn’t mean we never will.
From everything these experts are saying, one message stands out—earthquakes might be rare in Sri Lanka, but they are not impossible. Being prepared could save lives. And while the ground beneath us may seem steady now, we must ask ourselves: if the silence ever breaks, will we be ready?
