Flood relief expedited

Tuesday, 11 January 2011 00:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The government is taking action to provide relief to the people displaced by heavy rains with strong winds especially in the Eastern and Central Provinces. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has advised D. S. Divisions to provide relief to the flood affected even though they exceed fund allocations.

With the coordination of the Disaster Management Centre, the Sri Lanka Navy has provided five boats to Batticaloa to assist the flood victims.

Sri Lanka Air Force is providing air support to the victims by deploying two helicopters; Bell 212 and MI 17 in areas flooded. “Bell 212 rescued 14 persons who were marooned due to heavy rains in Tampitiya in the Batticaloa District”, the SLAF Spokesman Group Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said. MI 17 is conducting operations today to deliver food to the victims in Thoppigala, he added. The operations will be carried out throughout the day as and when required, he further said.

Meanwhile, over 1000 Army troops are carrying out rescue operations in flooded areas including Batticaloa. The Disaster Management Centre provided water purification machines to Batticaloa to supply drinking water to the flood victims. The Disaster Management Centre will also deploy officers to Moneragala and Kandy in addition to the officers deployed in Batticaloa.

According to the Disaster Management Centre, 819, 759 people belonging to 215, 996 families have been affected by floods caused by torrential rains.

Batticaloa, Ampara, Trincomalee, Polonnaruwa, Nuwara Eliya, Moneragala, Kandy, Badulla, and Kegalle Districts have been affected by floods.

Air Force drops dry rations in Batticaloa

The Sri Lanka Air Force, using a MI-17 helicopter, dropped 2.5 tons of dry rations in the Batticaloa area yesterday while a further 24 persons were rescued from flooding in Tampitiya, Ampara despite heavy rains and winds, the SLAF Spokesman said.