Disease threat for Sri Lanka flood victims

Monday, 17 January 2011 00:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka (AFP) – The threat of disease loomed Saturday over the million-plus victims of floods in Sri Lanka that have left nearly 40 people dead and devastated farmland in the island's rice bowl.

Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said medical units had been rushed to the central and eastern regions, where hundreds of thousands have been forced to take shelter in cramped, state-run relief camps.

"We are very conscious of the fact that there can be water-borne diseases and we brought medical staff from other areas to help out," Amaraweera told AFP. "There are no reports of diarrhoea, but we are taking precautions."

More than one million people were initially displaced in the flooding triggered by unusually heavy monsoon rains in the past week.

The state Disaster Management Centre said 37 people had been officially confirmed dead, with another 12 still missing.

Several international aid agencies along with the European Union and the governments of India and the US have helped with emergency supplies, officials said.

UN agencies in Colombo said that providing relief for those in the worst-affected areas was a serious challenge, and that they would shortly issue an international appeal for funding.

"A lot of work needs to be done after the water goes down, but first we have to assist people in welfare centres, to make sure they get adequate food, medicines and clean drinking water," UNICEF spokesman Mervyn Fletcher said.

Fletcher said the situation has shown a marked improvement in the past 24 hours with some families being ferried back to their villages to assess damage to homes and property

The UN children's agency was helping to purify millions of litres of drinking water for distribution in the affected regions.

Amaraweera said initial surveys showed that vast tracts of farmland had been destroyed, but added that it would be days before an accurate estimate of the economic impact could be made. Nearly one fifth of Sri Lanka's rice farms were affected by the floods, along with other vegetable crops, triggering immediate price rises in retail markets across the country.