Expeditious relief supplies for flood victims; relief payment Rs. 15,000 each

Wednesday, 4 June 2014 00:17 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

President Mahinda Rjapaksa has instructed the Ministry of Disaster Management to expedite relief supplies to those who were affected due to floods and landslides that occurred after the torrential rains which were experienced over the past few days. Sixteen people have been killed in landslides after heavy monsoon rains that caused severe flooding in Colombo, its suburbs and the Kalutara, Galle, Matara and Ratnapura Districts, the Disaster Management Centre confirmed yesterday. Two people were still missing following the flooding. Officials said the relief supplies were underway already in most of the affected areas. President Rajapaksa tweeted on Monday that he had instructed his officials to “expedite relief measures to communities affected by the bad weather.” Minister of Disaster Management, Mahinda Amaraweera said the families of the 17 persons who died will receive relief payment of Rs. 15,000 each immediately. Asst. Director and Media Spokesman of the Disaster Management Centre Pradeep Kodippili said budgets will be allocated for further assistance for the District Divisional Secretariats, District Secretariats and Divisional Disaster Management Units. The Media Spokesman said a sudden change in the weather resulted in heavy rainfall in many parts of the island. Floods and earth slips were reported in several areas in the Kalutara District due to heavy rainfall since 1 June. Areas including Mathugama, Agalawaththa, Bulathsinghala, Girikola, Welipenna, Lewunduwa, Pelawatta, Walallavita and Baduraliya are among the areas highly affected by the floods, he added. He said the water level in the Kelaniya area is expected to increase according to the Irrigation Department and residences on the Kelaniya River bank will be instructed to move in the next few hours if necessary. Seventeen deaths have been reported and 7,589 have been affected due to floods according to. Also 16 houses have fully damaged and 85 houses have partially damaged in these areas, he further said. Also, the security forces and Police have initiated flood relief measures to rescue people trapped or marooned due to rising water levels and roads being inundated. Accordingly, the Security Forces are continuously monitoring the weather conditions in the country and are in constant touch with disaster management officials and government institutions for smooth deployment of the relief measures.

Rains cause more havoc

Rains have continued to wreak havoc in several parts of the Western and South Western regions of the island, with the death toll from the flooding and earth slips rising to 23 by yesterday. The Disaster Management Centre confirmed the fatality toll was rising and said more than 12,000 people had been displaced by the flooding in the Kalutara District alone.

Most of the deaths have occurred in the Kalutara District where the flooding has been most intense. Train services on the Northern Line and the main lines were delayed due to rail tracks being submerged in several areas. The authorities have also issued landslide warnings for several areas in the Kalutara, Galle, Ratnapura, Badulla, Nuwara Eliya and Kegalle Districts. Vehicular movements along the Colombo-Avissawella road were also disrupted due to the bad weather conditions, with sections of the roads being submerged.