Flood relief not reaching worst affected areas

In the aftermath of devastating floods in Kalutara, villagers of Paalindanuwara are pleading for emergency relief supplies and urging the government to take effective preventive meassures. Residents of Paalindanuwara whose village was last affected by floods around 40 years ago, are still trying to recover from the effects of last week’s floods.

The area, situated in the Badureliya Assistant Government Agent’s Division in the Kalutara district was one of the worst affected by the floods. The three days of continuous rain washed away a number of wattle and daub houses.

People in the area are using improvised devices to clear debris and gather household utensils, as well as to clear their houses which are covered by mud. At least nine of the 27 killed during last week’s floods were from the Badureliya AGA division.

Chairman of the Paalindanuwara Pradeshiya Sabha, Dhammika Ranasinghe said, “more than 1,500 families, from 30 of 43 grama sevaka divisions were displaced by the floods. These families are facing grave health problems with a number of cases of diarrhoea being reported.”

Despite government announcements that relief had been dispatched to affected areas, relief had not reached Paalindanuwara villagers who are mainly paddy cultivators and tea small holders. Families complained they had not only lost their goods to the floods, but also their paddy fields which had just been sowed.

Vajira Lakshmi Abeywardena said they had heard relief items had been distributed to the urban areas, but sufficient quantities of relief items had not reached the interior areas.“The situation is grave and the authorities should look into it. We are not getting proper medicines. Health care too has been minimal resulting in the spread of disease,” she complained.

Some have witnessed their loved ones being washed away or buried under landslides, while others saw their houses being washed away by the raging waters. Rasika Priyangani said after two days of rain they were clearing a drain when suddenly a hillock in the vicinity of the house collapsed burying her mother P.M. Daywathi 58, alive.

“My husband and child were also buried under the mud, but the villagers managed to pull them out in time. But we could not find my mother and it was only the next day that we discovered her body,” she said.

Meanwhile floods in other areas too caused widespread damage with more than 500 houses being damaged, agricultural land being destroyed and roads washed away. The Kalutara district has been the worst affected. Of a total population of 350,000, more than 150,000 persons have been displaced.

Floods also affected the Ratnapura, Galle, Matara, Colombo, Gampaha and Kegalle districts.

Threat of disease now looms

Flood waters which displaced nearly 300,000 persons and left 27 dead in its wake last week are receding. However, health officials have raised fears of a possibility of an outbreak of water-borne diseases on an epidemic scale.

Dr. Sudath Pieris Epidemiologist, of the Health Ministry’s Epidemiology Unit said there was a threat of diseases like Typhoid, diarrhoea, Hepatitis A and Leptopirosis (rat fever) spreading. The affected districts had a large number of rat fever cases earlier this year, especially in the Gampaha and Kalutara districts. Because of the contaminated water this risk would definitely increase,” Dr. Pieris said. He added water sources too were polluted and using water from wells and streams should be avoided.

Meanwhile, The Sunday Times learned that several cases of diarrhoea have been reported in some areas of the Kalutara district. Kalutara was the worst affected district where 15 deaths were reported and 173,720 persons or 38,492 families were directly affected. Paalindanuwara, Bulathsinhala, Dodangoda and Millaniya Divisional Secretariat areas were among the worst affected.

District Secretary of the District, S. Hapuaarachchi said dry rations are being distributed to the people affected and water bowsers have been sent. Families in Wilegoda, Eheliyagoda in the Ratnapura district have been evacuated because of the threat of possible landslides.

“There are some hilly areas which are under threat of landslides. We are on alert for possible signs of landslides” said Asst. District Secretary to Ratnapura district, H.A.K. Pushpakumara.

In Ratnapura 7,263 individuals of a population of 30,396, were affected by the recent floods and around 500 houses were damaged.