Support to rebuild houses damaged by heavy rains

The Government has allocated millions of rupees to construct houses that have been damaged due to the current adverse weather conditions in several districts.

The authorities have taken measures to provide speedy relief to the families affected by the gale force winds that lashed the Issadeen town in Matara District.

District Coordinating Officer of the Disaster Management Centre Captain Saman Balasuriya says the cyclonic winds have caused damages to a government school and 70 houses. Roofing sheets and roofing tiles have been distributed to the families of the damaged houses.

The Disaster Management Center statistics has meanwhile revealed that Rs.40 million had been spent for relief due to the floods in May 2009 while another Rs. 50 million had been spent for relief for flood victims in June and Rs. 20 million had been spent in November.

According to Disaster Management Center statistics 1,437 houses were completely destroyed while another 3,562 house were partially damaged in the recent wave of floods at the end of December 2010.

Most of the damage due to floods occurred in the Batticaloa district in the Eastern Province where 528 houses were totally destroyed and another 2,051 houses were partially damaged.