Assessments of weather-hit houses sought within a week - official

The Disaster Management Ministry has sought assessment reports of houses partially damaged by the adverse weather, within a week, a ministry official said.

“There are 74 teams comprising a Technical Officer, a Grama Niladhari officer, and a National Disaster Relief Service Officer which are doing the assessment,” Additional Secretary Dr S Amalanathan told Times Online.

Dr. Amalanthan said that 39 fully damaged houses, and 1140 partially damaged houses have been identified so far. A fully or partially damaged house will receive compensation upto Rs 2.5 million.

“If the value of damages exceed this amount, we would take steps to disburse sums accordingly,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry has also distributed Rs 32 million among the district secretaries of nine districts which had been badly affected due to the floods. Dr. Amalanathan said that these funds would be used to cater to the needs of affected residents.