The large-scale flooding and landslides caused by ‘Cyclone Ditwah’ required rapid, coordinated action across multiple civilian and military agencies. While the response mitigated significant impacts, it also revealed critical operational, structural and institutional gaps within the national disaster management system. To identify best practices for institutionalisation, gaps and systemic weaknesses and develop achievable improvements for the emergency response system, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) convened a comprehensive After Action Review (AAR) recently.