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Message: <blockquote data-quote="lkdood" data-source="post: 9228732" data-attributes="member: 92282">Disease threat for Sri Lanka flood victimsBy Mel Gunasekera<img src="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/media/ALeqM5hnkjBmoC1dgMxQE2IXfJaMRJESng?docId=photo_1295090921362-1-0&size=l" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />The threat of disease loomed Saturday over the million-plus victims  of  floods in Sri Lanka that have left nearly 40 people dead and  devastated  farmland in the island's rice bowl.Disaster Management  Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said medical  units had been rushed to the  central and eastern regions, where  hundreds of thousands have been  forced to take shelter in cramped,  state-run relief camps."We are  very conscious of the fact that there can be water-borne  diseases and  we brought medical staff from other areas to help out,"  Amaraweera told  AFP. "There are no reports of diarrhoea, but we are  taking precautions."More  than one million people were initially displaced in the  flooding  triggered by unusually heavy monsoon rains in the past week.The state Disaster Management Centre said 37 people had been officially confirmed dead, with another 12 still missing.<img src="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/media/ALeqM5gmhYhWEx3vAtYwRfFMhs0Pt18h6Q?docId=photo_1295078009928-1-0&size=l" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Several  international aid agencies along with the European Union and  the  governments of India and the US have helped with emergency  supplies,  officials said.UN agencies in Colombo said that providing relief  for those in the  worst-affected areas was a serious challenge, and that  they would  shortly issue an international appeal for funding."A  lot of work needs to be done after the water goes down, but first  we  have to assist people in welfare centres, to make sure they get  adequate  food, medicines and clean drinking water," UNICEF spokesman  Mervyn  Fletcher said.Fletcher said the situation has shown a marked  improvement in the  past 24 hours with some families being ferried back  to their villages  to assess damage to homes and propertyThe UN children's agency was helping to purify millions of litres of drinking water for distribution in the affected regions.Amaraweera  said initial surveys showed that vast tracts of farmland  had been  destroyed, but added that it would be days before an accurate  estimate  of the economic impact could be made.Nearly one fifth of Sri  Lanka's rice farms were affected by the  floods, along with other  vegetable crops, triggering immediate price  rises in retail markets  across the country.Government officials said at least 30,000 homes had been damaged or completely destroyed by the floods and mudslides.In  the north-central region of Habarana, the carcass of a drowned  baby  elephant was found Thursday atop a 15-foot (five-metre) tree that  had  been submerged by the floodwaters.Weather conditions improved  across the island Saturday, but the  meteorological bureau in Colombo  said there was a possibility of  further rains.The improved  weather opened up the main roads leading to the key  eastern towns, where  a consignment of food, bottled water and medicines  donated by India was  being distributed Saturday.Some 3,000 soldiers have been deployed to help with the relief efforts, along with trucks and air force helicopters.A  large number of those forced out of their homes had only recently  been  resettled after decades of ethnic conflict between Tamil Tiger  rebels  and government forces.Many had also seen their livelihoods wrecked before by the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.Sri  Lanka depends on monsoon rains for irrigation and power  generation, but  the seasonal downpours frequently cause death and  property damage in  low-lying areas as well as mountainous regions.The island's two main monsoon seasons run from May to September and December to February.<a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gggZUwIlKvXxXXcJLjLAGbIsJx6w?docId=CNG.f35355b81292bbf531836ae92c3ab1ef.201" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.google.com/hostednews/img/afp_logo.gif" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a></blockquote>

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