Sri Lanka, Dec. 18 -- As Sri Lanka reels from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah, former Finance Minister and current MP Ravi Karunanayake has reminded the government that a national disaster insurance mechanism once implemented through the National Insurance Trust Fund (NITF) could have significantly reduced the financial and humanitarian fallout.

Speaking amid mounting losses from the cyclone, which destroyed thousands of homes and displaced large numbers of families, Karunanayake said the National Natural Disaster Insurance Scheme introduced under the 2016 Budget had been specifically designed to protect households, farmers and small businesses from such large-scale calamities.

He recalled that the scheme, which was initiated u...