Over 522,000 hit by floods

Chaminda PERERA

The Government yesterday said more than 522,171 people were affected and 17,253 displaced by the floods in the Western, Southern, Sabaragamuwa and Central provinces.

The displaced have been provided accommodation in 85 camps in the Colombo and Gampaha districts.

The highest number of camps have been set up in the Gampaha district where there are more than 47,717 flood affected families.

Wattala, Katana and Kelaniya are the worst affected DS divisions in the Gampaha district while Panadura and Dodangoda DS divisions in the Kalutara district have also reported a high number of victims due to flood for the past few days.

The Disaster Management centre sent pumping machines and water tanks provided by the IOM to the Gampaha district yesterday.

These pumps will be utilized for cleaning of drinking water wells submerged by the flood.

He said a combined mechanism is under way in the Gampaha district to provide relief to the people affected by the floods in the Gampaha district.

UN agencies including the UNDP and WFP and local NGOs assist the Government in providing immediate relief to the people affected by the flood. The WFP jointly with the District Secretaries in the affected districts provides cooked meals for the victims.

A spokesman of the Disaster Management Centre yesterday said that the Armed Forces have been called in to assist the flood victims in the district where large number of people were either affected or displaced.

The Centre yesterday requested bottles of water from the public as the flood hit people do not have access to potable water.

The wells have also been inundated and the water is not safe for drinking until the wells are cleaned of the polluted water.

The Disaster Management unit in every District Secretariat accept bottles of water from the public and philanthropists.