Sri Lanka plea for help as more than 150 die in monsoon floods
AID agencies have urgently appealed for help in Sri Lanka after floods and mudslides left 151 dead and 111 others missing.
The United Nations promised assistance in response to a government appeal as the country experienced the worst torrential rains for more than a decade.
Close to half a million people have been forced from their homes and 2,000 houses were damaged or destroyed in the disaster which buried buildings under mud and rock over the weekend.
“Aid is now getting into the remotest areas which remained inaccessible in the past two days,” said Rajitha Senaratne, the health minister.
Water purification tablets, tarpaulins and water containers for the displaced will be donated by the UN, while India has already sent two naval ships filled with medical aid for the relief operation, with a third on the way.
Police and civilian agencies were reinforced by the deployment of 2,000 military personnel, while the World Health Organisation will support medical teams in affected areas, and the United States and Pakistan have also promised to send relief supplies.
Despite floodwater clearing in the Ratnapura and Matara districts, many villages in Kalutara, south of the capital Colombo, are still underwater and more rains are expected in the coming days.
After a river filled with dangerous wildlife burst its banks in the monsoon, residents to the south of the island were warned of possible crocodile attacks.
Save the Children raised fears that stagnant water could become a breeding ground for dengue-spreading mosquitoes.
The charity said a tenth of the displaced were children under five and warned that such youngsters were more vulnerable to the virus.
Medical teams were dispatched to the worst-hit areas in an effort to prevent waterborne diseases from developing. Mr Senaratne said: “We have the expertise to deal with this situation.” Although 111 people are still missing, the head of the search and rescue mission, Maj Gen Sudantha Ranasinghe, said yesterday that he did not expect to find any more survivors.
Meteorologists in Sri Lanka said the rains ended a prolonged drought that had threatened agriculture as well as hydropower generation.
Mudslides are common during Sri Lanka’s monsoon season, which is usually from May to September, but this is the worst instance of flooding in Sri Lanka since May 2003 when 250 people died and 10,000 homes were destroyed.