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| Sunday, 19 December 2004 |
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Floods displace over 19,000 families by Ranga Jayasuriya Floods which inundated large swaths in the North East and North Central provinces are subsiding as the National Disaster Management Centre put the number of displaced families over 19,000. Eight persons were killed due to floods and five succumbed to earthslips in Badulla and another in Nuwara Eliya. Two were drowned in Battiacoa. Director of the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) N.D.Hettiarachchi told the Sunday observer that 151,255 families had been affected by torrential rains, with Ampara and Batticaloa being the worst affected districts. According to statistics of NDMC, 19,154 families have been displaced, including 15,000 families in the Ampara district. Four thousand eight hundred and forty four houses have been damaged. Deputy Social Welfare Minister S.M.Chandrasena told the Sunday Observer three thousand and nine hundred acres of paddy land have been destroyed in the district. Three thousand nine hundred families have been affected in Batticaloa and 1,534 families in the Polonnaruwa district. Four hundred families have been evacuated in Welimada due to threats of earthslips. Hettiarachchi said the NDMC had already released nine million rupees as flood relief which had been distributed through the government agents, both in the government and LTTE controlled areas. He said he had not yet received data on flood havoc in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts. He, however added Kilinochchi Government Agent had informed that an estimated 9,000 families have been affected in the district. The Emelda Sukumar has said an estimated 5,300 families have been affected in the district. Meanwhile, Highway Minister's office said several causeways on the Valachchenai-Navaladi road, Trincomalee-Pulmudai road, Thampalakamam-Kinniya road,Ella-Kantale road and Kalmunai-Vavalkadi road had been submerged over four feet. Certain areas of the Jaffna- Kandy road, Paranthan-Mullaitivu road and Navankudi-Mannar road have been inundated, according to a media statement by the Highway Minister's office. |
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