News
Number affected by adverse weather comes down to 132, 521 from nearly 260,000
View(s):- DMC’s Emergency Operations Hotline receives up to 3000 calls per day
By Sandun Jayawardana and Dilushi Wijesinghe
The number of persons affected by the adverse weather situation in 14 districts reduced from a peak of nearly 260, 000 and stood at 132, 521 persons from 35, 022 families by yesterday, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said.
The DMC situation report released yesterday noted that 24 persons have been confirmed dead while one person remains missing. Nine others have suffered injuries. The DMC added that 68 houses have been completely destroyed while 4877 have suffered partial damage. A total of 652 small and medium enterprises had been damaged while there have been eight cases of damage to critical infrastructure.
Floods in Malwana. Pic by Indika Handuwala
The number of persons staying at safe locations too stood at 1825 persons from 450 families being sheltered at 47 safe locations as of yesterday.
Torrential rains experienced from last Sunday resulted in the overflowing of the Kalu, Gin and Nilwala Rivers as well as the Attanagalu Oya, DMC’s Spokesman Pradeep Kodippili said.
“More than 150 boats and catamarans and more than 8000 troops have been deployed for rescue missions,” said Mr Kodippili.
He added that funding for cooked meals and dry rations were increased by 33 percent as of June 5. Meanwhile, Rs. 10, 000 will be provided to each flood-affected household for cleaning purposes while Rs. 250, 000 will be given as compensation for families that lost loved ones in the disaster.
Out of the 24 deaths so far recorded, most had occurred in instances where people have gone to enjoy the flood waters and got into difficulties, the DMC spokesman added. Other causes for recorded deaths include being buried under collapsed earth mounds and falling trees.
Mr Kodippili added that the DMC’s Emergency Operations Hotline receives up to 3000 calls per day at present. The usual number is between 800-1000.
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