Indian Naval Ship ‘Kirch’ here on relief operations; 2 more to follow
A day after torrential rains caused serious floods in the country, an Indian Naval Ship ‘Kirch’ arrived at the Colombo port yesterday, with relief assistance for victims of floods and landslides.
The INS Kirch is tasked to assist in the ongoing disaster relief efforts, and was welcomed by the Sri Lanka Navy on her arrival, in keeping with Naval customs.
“On the directives of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a consignment of relief materials have been promptly shipped to Sri Lanka, strengthening long term ties of camaraderie and mutual friendship between the two neighbours,” a statement from the Indian Navy said.
The ship, with around 125 personnel on board, arrived at Colombo Port yesterday morning and offloaded relief supplies, inflatable Gemini boats with diving teams, and a mobile medical team with supplies. High Commissioner of India Taranjit Sandhu officially handed over the supplies to Foreign Affairs Minister Ravi Karunanayake at the Port. The Indian rescue personnel are now being deployed to the disaster affected zones in coordination with the SLN and other local authorities.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ravi Karunanayake, Indian High Commissioner (IHC) to Sri Lanka, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Commander- Western Naval Area, Rear Admiral Niraja Attygalle, officers from Naval Headquarters, IHC Defence Attaché in Sri Lanka, Captain Ashok Rao and a host of Govt. officials were present on the occasion.
A second ship, INS Shardul left Kochi and is scheduled to arrive at Colombo Port by this afternoon. The ship is carrying additional relief material requested by the Sri Lankan authori-
Given the scale of the disaster, the Government also requested assistance from the United Nations (UN) and neighbouring countries. The Indian Government was the first to respond. While one vessel carrying disaster relief material arrived yesterday, a second vessel is due to arrive today. India has also offered search and rescue helicopters if needed while other countries have also offered assistance, Minister Rajitha Senaratne said.
Rs.150 million have already been released as emergency disaster relief by the Government.
In a bid to ensure food hygiene is maintained, authorities have decided to cook food for those who had been affected at one place and airlift them to relevant areas. Accordingly, all cooked food will be airlifted from the Ratmalana Air Force base in coordination with the relevant district and divisional secretaries. These will then be distributed by vehicle, boat or helicopter depending on the situation. Dry rations to be distributed later were also being stocked.
The floods also caused havoc in the health services in the affected districts. The Iththepana and Galpatha hospitals in Kalutara are cut off. The bodies of several persons killed due to floods and landslides are lying in the mortuaries of these hospitals, Minister Senaratne disclosed. “We have asked that the bodies be kept in the mortuaries until floodwaters recede as there is currently no way to conduct final rites,” he stressed. Meanwhile, the Ratnapura General Hospital and Kamburupitiya Hospital were also affected by flooding while patients and staff have been evacuated from the Deniyaya and Morawaka hospitals as they were in danger of being completely flooded, he disclosed.
The Government has decided to provide compensation to those who were killed while houses which were fully destroyed would also be repaired, the Minister added. In addition, compensation would be given for property damage and losses. ties, apart from more inflatable boats. According to the IHC, a third ship, INS Jalashwa, has also set sail from Visakhapatnam to join the relief efforts, and is expected to reach Colombo within two days.
"INS Jalsahwa is an even larger Dock-class ship, which can carry large amounts of relief material and is ideally suited for conduct of Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster relief missions. The IHC in Colombo is in close touch with local authorities to coordinate any additional assistance that may be required," a statement from the IHC said.
The Indian assistance came as the Foreign Affairs Ministry activated its Emergency Response Unit Ministry, to coordinate rescue and relief measures related to the flood situation in several parts of the country yesterday.
The Ministry, in coordination with the Ministry of Disaster Management, has appealed to the UN International Search & Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) and neighboring countries to provide assistance to affected people, especially for search and rescue operations.
The adverse weather was brought on by the onset of the southwest monsoon over the island. The Department of Meteorology had earlier correctly predicted that the monsoon will set in from around May 25. Nevertheless, the destructive nature of the rains seemed to have caught everyone by surprise. During the 24-hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Friday, Kukuleganga had recorded the highest rainfall of 553 millimeters (mm). S.R. Jayasekara, the Met Department’s Director General, stated that the flood situation was comparable to the destructive floods of May, 2003, which left hundreds dead.
Mr. Jayasekara said the Met Department predicts the rains to gradually ease by Sunday (28). There was however, a danger of further heavy rains on May 29 and 30, he cautioned.
Ratnapura was hit hard during the 2003 floods and the situation was similar this time. Ratnapura town itself was inundated on Friday, as armed forces personnel scrambled to rescue hundreds of people trapped by floodwaters.
Meanwhile, several towns in the Galle district, including the Neluwa and Thawalama were inundated, with floodwaters in some of these areas reaching as high as 25 feet.
According to M. Thuraisingham, the Irrigation Department’s Director General, water levels of the Kalu Ganga, Nilwala Ganga and Gin Ganga were rising. The Nilwala and Gin Ganga especially had reached critical levels, he noted. Water level of the Kelani River was also rising.
Meanwhile, the Home Affairs Ministry has cancelled the leave of all Government employees and field officers attached to District and Divisional Secretariats in disaster affected districts until further notice and they have been instructed to immediately report to their respective offices.
District Secretaries were also given powers to recruit retired Government employees to execute duties if there is a shortage of officials.