A critical rescue mission is underway in Sri Lanka to save over 170,000 legal documents soaked during last November’s devastating Cyclone Ditwah. The storm affected 2.2 million people and left 820 dead or missing. Among the wreckage was the city of Kandy’s courthouse, where vital pending case files were submerged in floodwaters—threatening to paralyze the local justice system.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!In response to an urgent request from the Sri Lankan government, Tokyo dispatched a team of elite disaster-recovery specialists to lead the restoration.
The Experts & The Strategy
The operation pairs cultural preservation with advanced science to tackle two major enemies of wet paper: structural decay and toxic mold.
- The Efficiency Boost: Yosei Kozuma, chief of Japan’s Cultural Heritage Disaster Risk Management Center, brought invaluable experience from the 2011 Tohoku tsunami. By teaching local staff how to optimize absorbent papers and specialized drying equipment, he slashed document processing times by 90%.
- The Health Guard: Professor Emeritus Masakazu Furuta, a leading expert in radiation sterilization from Osaka Metropolitan University, implemented strict biohazard protocols. His methods prevent dangerous mold growth on the damp papers, protecting workers from severe respiratory health hazards.
The Recovery Blueprint
While Japan’s intervention has drastically accelerated the workflow, the sheer volume of damage means a long road ahead.
| Crisis Metric | Status & Impact |
| Total Compromised Files | 170,000+ court documents |
| Urgent Backlog | 15,000 documents requiring immediate care |
| Current Workforce | 10 local workers per day |
| Estimated Timeline | 10 months to complete the remaining urgent files |
“My experience in dealing with flood damage, which occurs frequently in Japan, helped a lot.”
— Yosei Kozuma, Disaster Risk Management Specialist
What’s Next: Kozuma has temporarily returned to Japan but is preparing to head back to Kandy. He plans to donate critical equipment and materials to ensure the local team has the long-term resources needed to finish the job and restore the court’s archives.
