Welcome to disaster season — now streaming live.

Sri Lanka is flooded again. Not emotionally. Not metaphorically. Properly flooded. Homes underwater, roads gone missing, furniture floating away like it suddenly developed travel goals. Families carrying their entire life in one plastic bag. And in the middle of all this chaos, we have also lost lives, which is the part that hits the hardest and should never feel normal.

While rescue boats are moving slowly through real water, our phones, of course, are moving very fast. Faster than rain. Faster than help. Faster than common sense sometimes. Before officials confirm, notifications arrive. Before rescue teams reach certain areas, WhatsApp voice notes travel half the island. Photos go up, facts catch up later. Welcome to disaster season, now streaming live.

Let’s get one thing straight. Social media is not the enemy. In fact, when used properly, it has been incredible. People have found shelters because of a post. Food has reached stranded families because of a story. Missing relatives have been located because someone shared the right number at the right time. Donations moved faster than any official process ever could. One good post can actually save a life. That’s not drama, that’s reality.

But then, of course, there is the other side. The forwarded unverified “urgent warning” from a friend of a friend of a cousin. The crying faces zoomed in without consent. The political war starts while people are still on rooftops. And my personal favourite is the selfie with floodwater in the background paired with a deeply motivational caption. Please stop. This is not a movie. This is someone’s actual life falling apart in real time.

Ethical posting is really not complicated. If it’s not verified, don’t share it. If it’s someone’s suffering, handle it with care. If it’s only for attention, maybe keep it in your drafts. If it sounds like a rumour, it probably is. And jokes, memes, and sarcasm, let’s pack those away until the water goes down. There is a time and place for everything. This is not the time.

Yes, there will be accountability. There will be questions. There will be anger. But right now is not the moment for political boxing matches on Facebook while people are waiting for boats. Right now, people need rescue, food, dry clothes, medicine and a little emotional safety. Debates can wait. Lives cannot.

One of the most dangerous things during a flood is outdated information. If someone has been found, update your post. If a shelter is full, update it. If help has been delivered, update it. Confusion slows rescue. And in a disaster, every delay costs something.

The beautiful thing about Sri Lanka is that when we show up, we really show up. We cook for strangers. We donate without asking questions. We drive on flooded roads without thinking twice. We rescue people we have never met, like they are our own. That big Sri Lankan heart must exist online too. Because today, your phone is not just a phone. It is a rescue bell, a shelter map, a donation box and sometimes the only reason someone is found alive.

Before you hit “share”, just pause for three seconds and ask yourself, is this true, is this kind, is this useful? If not, don’t post it. Silence, sometimes, is also service.

The floods will eventually go. The water will dry. Roads will reopen. Life will slowly stitch itself back together. But what will remain forever is how we treated the displaced, how we spoke about the suffering, and how we behaved when no one was watching except the whole internet.

So yes, post. Share. Help. Donate. Volunteer. Amplify real information. But don’t turn tragedy into content. Because right now, social media should not be part of the disaster. It should be part of the rescue.