Around 250,000 Sri Lankans fled their homes last week after monsoon floods spread in the island's east, submerging more than 270 homes and killing eight people. On Friday at least 120,000 people spent a fourth day sheltering in schools and temples.

"There are approximately 120,000 people still displaced," National Disaster Management Centre Director N.D. Hettiarachchi told Reuters.

"About 700,000 people have been affected overall, like people who live in coastal areas and can't go fishing or farmers who can't work," he said. "But the situation is not getting worse."

The recent floods in Sri Lanka, said to be the most severe in 15 years, have also left more than 10,000 families from World Vision's Eravur Pattu Area Development Program (ADP) in Batticaloa marooned or driven from their homes, the international Christian relief and development organization reported Wednesday.

"The people from the east Sri Lanka ADP are now living in community halls and schools with decent roofing to shelter them," reported World Vision.

After visiting the affected villages by boat, ADP Manager Arul Nasan said, "We have identified 6,500 families who are most in need of relief at this point."

So far World Vision has been able to deliver dry rations to 2,200 families. However, the organization reports that access roads to five of the 21 villages in the area are flooded, completely cutting off the communities. Acres of paddy land are inundated, leaving paddy cultivators with little hope even for the next season.

"The villages of Sithandy 2, Sithandy 4 and Devapuram are the most affected, while Iralskulam, Periyawatte, Illukuputany, Perumalweli and Mailawattuwa are cut off," the agency said.

It is believed it will be at least February before the floods recede. Until then, communities from these five villages will have to travel using the single boat that has been made available by the government.

Nasan said the second step of the flood relief program is ensuring people have access to clean water in an attempt to prevent further outbreaks of contagious diseases.

According to Reuters, floods are common across Sri Lanka during the northeast monsoon from December to January, and strand tens of thousands of people each year. In May 2003, flash floods in the south of the Indian Ocean island killed 250 people and left 500,000 homeless.

In recent years, Sri Lanka has been hit by both cyclical floods and droughts. A drought earlier this year left more than 200,000 people without drinking water, ravaged crops and affected nearly 10 percent of the 19 million population.




Kenneth Chan
Ecumenical Press