Sri Lanka floods :17 dead, over 440,000 affected

lkdood

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The flooding from the torrential rains lashing the Southwestern part of Sri Lanka for the fourth-consecutive day has displaced over 440,000 people and caused 17 deaths, the Disaster Management Centre said Wednesday.

The Western Province that includes the Sri Lankan capital Colombo was the worst affected by the flooding. Most of the roads in the province remain inundated disrupting the traffic.

According to the figures released today by the Disaster Management Center 8.465 families had been affected by floods in the Kalutara district while 39,557 families were displaced in the Gampaha District.

In Colombo district 33,168 families have been hit by the floods while in Galle district 19,610 families have been displaced. A total of 442,415 people across the country have become flood victims, the DMC reported.

The Sri Lanka Navy has deployed its personnel and craft as a response to the heavy flood situation.

In Gampaha district the Navy has deployed 23 naval teams and 22 naval craft to assist the flood victims. Special naval teams have been dispatched to the hard-hit areas of Wattala, Negombo, Gampaha, and Katana for emergency operations.

Meanwhile, the Army has rushed its troops to flood-ravaged areas in Kalutara Colombo and Puttalam districts yesterday (18), following a request made to the Army by district administrative authorities.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa held an emergency meeting yesterday and ordered to release 18 million rupees for emergency relief including cooked meals.

CP
 

lkdood

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Apr 7, 2008
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Since Friday, 14 May 2010, heavy monsoon rains have resulted in flash floods, high-winds, landslides, lightning and thunder storms in 13 districts in Sri Lanka including: Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Ratnapura, Kegalle, Matara, Kegalle, Galle, Nuwara Eliya, Trincomalee, Puttalam, Mannar and Anuradhapura.

As of Wednesday, 19 May 2010, over 458,783 persons (104,213 families) have been affected by the heavy rains. This includes minor displacement of 9,579 people and 18 deaths. The Government of Sri Lanka is responding to the crisis through local and central levels and the Navy has been deployed with their boat teams to assist with evacuations.

A two day government led Inter-Agency flood assessment mission (WFP, OCHA, Disaster Management Center, Ministry of Economic Development) visited Gampaha District in the North Western Province on 19 May 2010. The assessment team met with the Gampaha District Secretary (Government Agent), Divisional Secretaries of Wattala and Katana (the most affected divisions) and officials in charge of health services in the district. The mission will cover Kalutara District in the South Western Province on 20 May 2010.