87,000 families hit by natural disasters this year

2,566 families have been affected by cyclone, 162 by landslides, 2337 by floods, 83 by lightning, 57, 709 families by the drought

As many as 87,808 families have been affected by various natural disasters this year, a Disaster Management Ministry report has revealed. The progress report of the Ministry of Disaster Management has revealed that the amount of people affected by a range of disasters in 2015 including floods, drought, landslides cyclones and even sea erosion.

Some 2,566 families have been affected by cyclone, 162 by landslides, 2337 by floods, 83 by lightning, 57, 709 families by the drought, 24,551 by oil spills and 20 families by sea erosion

Several districts including Colombo, Galle, Batticaloa, Nuwara Eliya, Jaffna and Kalutara districts were hit by floods while cyclones have hit Ampara, Anurdhapura, Badulla, Batticaloa, Colombo, Galle, Gampaha, Hambantota, Kalutara, Kandy Kilinochchi, Kurunegala, Matale, Matara, Moneragala, Nuwara Eliya, Polonnaruwa, Puttalam, Ratnapura and Vavuniya, Landslides have occurred in Badulla, Kandy, Matara, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura. In addition the districts of Ampara, Batticaloa, Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Polonnaruwa and Trioncomalee have been hit by drought this year.

The government has spent Rs 536.2 million to provide relief to the people who have been affected by natural disasters during the year.