Bad weather: more evacuation centres set up

Ridma Dissanayake

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said yesterday the number of evacuation centres which dropped to 22, increased again to 59 due to floods, landslides and strong winds caused by heavy rains.

The death toll by these natural disasters also rose to 50 with 16 injuries reported. The number of missing persons also increased to eight and DMC personnel and troops attached to the Tri-Forces and the Police are conducting their search and rescue operations to find them. "Seventeen deaths have been reported from the Central Province which is the largest number todate.

Another 10 deaths have been reported from the Eastern Province and 11 from the Uva and North Central Provinces. All missing persons are residents in Matale and Nuwara-Eliya districts, "they added.

Over 385,630 persons belonging to 104,726 families have been affected by the inclement weather conditions. Five thousand two hundred and forty seven houses have been destroyed by the floods and landslides, while 31,389 homes were partially damaged.

Around 5,300 persons from 1,398 families are sheltering at Evacuation Centres and a number of affected persons have taken shelter with relatives. Twenty one Evacuation Centres have been established in the Central Province and another 33 in the North Central, Eastern, Northern and Uva Provinces.

Approximately 294,395 persons from 79,722 families in the Batticaloa district have been affected by the inclement weather conditions.

The government has already launched number of relief programmes to help the affected and help them resume their normal lives.

The Economic Development Ministry has already allocated a large sum of money under its "Yali Pibidemu" Project and Second Community Development and Livelihood Improvement project.

The government has launched another programme to provide dry rations to persons housed at Evacuation Centres via District and Divisional Secretariat offices.