In Sri Lanka, heavy rains have abated but more than a million people have been affected by massive flooding, including 325,000 people displaced. International aid agency Oxfam is providing immediate support to thousands, including food items, water, blankets and hygiene kits.
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| Evacuating residents of the town of Santhively near Batticaloa used a ferry that was supplied by Oxfam in 2004. |
In Sri Lanka, heavy rains have abated but more than a million people have been affected by massive flooding, including 325,000 people displaced. International aid agency Oxfam is providing immediate support to thousands, including food items, water, blankets and hygiene kits.
The main road from Colombo to Batticaloa, closed for the past five days, has now reopened. In spite of these improvements, the crisis is far from over. Many areas including interior Batticaloa remain inaccessible, making it extremely difficult to assess needs and damage to life and property.
Thusitha Siriwardana, Campaigns and Policy Manager at Oxfam, said, “The situation has improved slightly but there are immense challenges especially in the Eastern Province. Oxfam is working with other agencies and government departments in responding to this disaster. Our priority is to meet the immediate needs of the affected people but we will soon have to start looking at the longer-term implications of the flood.”
The disaster comes at a time when many families were due to celebrate Thai Pongal, the Tamil Thanksgiving festival.
Velapody Sodhimani, a resident of Mahilavedduvan village in South Batticaloa, has been living in a government school building for the past week. She said, “I feel terrible that I will not be able to celebrate the harvest festival in my own home with my children. The flood has destroyed everything. We will not even be able to cook pongal this year.”
Oxfam is planning to scale up its assistance in the coming weeks, ultimately reaching 120,000 people in three eastern districts with water, sanitation, public health education and food security. The agency is also aiming to provide food assistance to families in Pollanaruwa and Anuradhapura.
