Heavy rains in East, 600,000 affected

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 January 2011, 03:28 GMT]
The three districts of Eastern Province, Batticaloa, Ampaa'rai and Trincomalee, have been experiencing heavy rains beginning from the second week of December last year and about six hundred thousand members of 160,000 families have been affected, according to officials attached to the Disaster Management Ministry (DMM). In Batticaloa district alone 360,000 persons have been affected. Batticaloa District Secretary has appealed to the DMM hierarchy to take immediate steps to provide dry rations to all affected people whether they are displaced or not as their livelihood had been affected due to inclement weather.

However flood in several DS divisions are reported to be receding, people are worried about the continuing rain.

People displaced by flood were only provided with dry rations for three days. Thereafter, they have been forced to find their own source of income.

The affected farmers are unable to restart their cultivation of subsidiary crops and paddy as their lands are still under flood water.

Fishermen are unable to go for fishing due to rough sea.

The Batticaloa district has been experiencing heavy rain from December 23 and Vaakarai and Ea'raavoor have been among the most affected DS divisions in the district. A total of 642 houses in 14 Divisional Secretariat Divisions were fully damaged by the floods, according to civil sources.

14 Kiraama Cheavakar (GS) Divisions in the Ampaa'rai district were severely affected by the torrential rains resulting in the low lying areas being submerged.

In the Trincomalee district thousands of people resettled in villages in Moothoor East and Verukal DS division have been undergoing untold hardships as their livelihood activities have come to a standstill due to the continuing rain.

Only to those displaced and sheltered in transit camps were provided with dry ration relief.

Villagers who have lost their livelihood due to flood but staying in their huts without seeking refuge in transit camps are not being provided with any relief.

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