Cyclone Gaja's full scale of destruction still being ascertained
Cyclone Gaja and the monsoonal rain it brought last week wrecked scores of houses, destroyed crops and displaced many people in the Jaffna district. Property damage costs are still being calculated, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said.
The storm, which entered Sri Lanka from the Jaffna district, drifted southwest, touching the Kilinochchi district, before brushing past the Mannar district on its way to India.
The DMC said 5,570 people were affected in the Jaffna District with 90 houses being destroyed and 978 being partially damaged.
“Chavakachcheri and Kovil Kudiruppu were the towns most severely battered,” DMC assistant director for the Jaffna District S. Ravi said.
“The families who lost their houses have been temporarily placed in a camp. They will receive compensation and be relocated to a safer area.”
Thirty pregnant women were moved to a shelter with better facilities to receive special attention.
The storm knocked over 55,000 banana trees in the Kopay division. The losses to farmers are still being calculated.
The DMC has not prepared official statistics for the Mannar and Kilinochchi districts as the storm damage was not as serious as in Jaffna.
Flooding had left 110 people in want in the Mannar district, local DMC officer K. Thileepan said. “The areas with the biggest impact were Madhu and Manthai West,” he said. “We provided cooked meals on one day.”
“The ministry allocated Rs. 10 million for the initial phase of reconstruction,” DMC DirectorGeneral D r. S. Amalanadan said.
“Also, when I visited Jaffna last week I saw that by-roads were badly damaged due to cracked pipes that run underground, and we allocated Rs. 500,000 to purchase cube pipes. We also approved the purchase of 5,000 sand bags. Meals were provided for the first two days. The reimbursable sum of Rs.1 million given to our district official was used to attend to the immediate needs.”
Dr. Amalanadan said the chief concern was regarding people who had encroached on state lands in areas considered as high-danger zones.
“A clear example is the number of people settled near the Kelani River on lands that belong to the Irrigation Department,” he said. “These people are affected by floods annually.
“The authorities should issue building plans in a legal and proper manner. The divisional secretariat also has to check on these houses built on encroached on lands. It is sad to see that sometimes political pressure pushes for the construction of houses in these areas,” Dr. Amalanadan said.