The UNESCO Director-General assured a coordinated emergency aid following a request by the Government of Sri Lanka. 

UNESCO, as a component of the Heritage Emergency Fund, is equipping the Department of National Archives with capacity building to handle and preserve the damaged documentary heritage, an estimated 200,000 of the existing documents held at the National Archives in Colombo and Kandy. Needs Assessment will also be carried out by UNESCO on the public records and archives, and built heritage within the flood-affected regions.

Referring to its already established experience regarding safeguarding the continuity of learning, UNESCO will mend structural losses to restore the safe learning conditions in 63 swayed pre-schools within the Colombo district and offer temporary teaching facilities, lodging and care to the pupils. Emergency rehabilitation will be used to assist the primary schools in remote parts of Aranayake, Kegalle district.

UNESCO is also restoring mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in education systems of affected regions, affecting about 28900 teachers and school principals.

Lastly, UNESCO is strengthening science-based disaster risk reduction and improving preparedness for future disasters of climate change. This will involve the identification of technical and institutional loopholes under flood and reservoir operations, carrying out specific hydrological risk analysis within the Mahaweli, Kelani, Walawe and Menik river basins, and enhancing the application of AI-based forecasting applications to enhance flood early warning systems (FEWS).