President Maithripala Sirisena has assured to allocate sufficient financial resources to deliver maximum relief to the people affected by the recent floods and landslides in Sri Lanka.

President Sirisena on Monday headed a meeting of the Presidential Task Force to manage recovery from the recent natural disaster outbreak and to normalise the livelihood of those affected by the disaster.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, other relevant line ministers, Secretary to the President and the Secretaries to the line Ministries, Commanders of Tri-Forces and senior security officers attended the meeting at the Presidential Secretariat.

The President directing the officials to provide as much as relief needed for the victims assured that enough financial resources will be allocated to ensure delivery of maximum welfare services as required.

The Task Force decided to offer Rs. 10,000 as a quick assistance per disaster-damaged household.

The discussion also focused on the actions that should be taken to return the victims to normal life, as the floods recede. The Task Force paid its attention to the healthcare and the resettlement of the victims and discussed about a long term program which prevents those victims facing such a situation in the future.

The Task Force decided to declare the areas of landslide as high security zones. The President instructed officials to be attentive to the management of the high-risk lands and not to allow any unauthorised dwellings.

President Sirisena also instructed the officials to stop land reclamation in the Western Province with immediate effect.

The President instructed the officials to put in place an appropriate mechanism to acquire lands for the resettlement of families displaced by the disaster. He also gave instructions to implement a special program for the education of children affected by the disaster.

He advised the officials of the National Building Research Organisation to verify that houses damaged by flood waters are now in suitable conditions for the flood victims to resettle. He also instructed the officials to implement a special program to clean the affected areas.

It was mentioned at the meeting that the United Nations has agreed to provide technical assistance to clean the area affected by the disaster.

During the meeting Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa outlined in details the relief program launched by the government.

He said that five countries, including Japan, India, Turkey, Maldives, and Pakistan have agreed to provide assistance to the people affected by the disaster while many other countries have agreed to help with the welfare of the people.

At the moment, clothes, kitchen utensils, electrical equipment and health facilities are needed for the disaster affected.

The President took this opportunity to thank all the citizens, corporates, officials, MPs and Ministers, the UN, international organisations and donor countries as well as the media institutions, who worked together to assist those affected.

Floods, landslides death toll tops 100

AFP: Floods subsided across Sri Lanka Tuesday revealing the full extent of damage from last week’s deluge that also triggered landslides, officials said, as the death toll crossed 100.

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said 101 people were known to have died last week while another 100 people were still listed as missing in the worst hit central district of Kegalle.

Military officials in the district, 100 kilometres (60 miles) north-east of the capital, said a search was still under way for the missing people although there was little hope of finding anyone alive under the tons of mud.

“The flood waters have receded across the country,” DMC spokesman Pradeep Kodippili told AFP. “Over 530 houses have been completely destroyed and another 4,000 partly damaged.”

He said most of the capital’s flood-affected population had returned to their homes since Monday when the water levels started going down.

At the height of the floods, a third of Colombo’s 650,000 residents were driven out of their homes, according to official figures.

The Finance Ministry has estimated the damage to small businesses and industries at about $2 billion. The government has promised compensation to victims, but details are yet to be announced.

Sri Lanka’s parliament has been recalled to meet Wednesday, a week ahead of schedule, to discuss reconstruction and rehabilitation following the worst flooding in the capital in nearly a quarter of a century.

Soldiers and relief workers were seen distributing essential supplies to people cleaning up their homes in low-lying areas of Colombo.

Floodwaters from the Kelani, which flows to the Indian Ocean through Colombo, were contaminated with garbage from a dump on the edge of the city as well as raw sewage, raising concerns of a disease outbreak, officials said.

Doctors and nurses were seen across the affected areas Tuesday while the authorities maintained mobile medical units.

Sri Lanka has received international aid as well as support from nationals keen to help the victims.

Rain has eased since Cyclone Roanu moved away from Sri Lanka to hit southern Bangladesh on Saturday, leaving at least 24 people dead there, before weakening.