Burevi impacts over 70,000 people

 Damage caused by the tropical cyclone 

• DMC says thousands of people in 13 districts affected
• 2 deaths and 6 injuries recorded 
• Northern Province worst-affected 

The Burevi tropical cyclone that made landfall in Sri Lanka this week has impacted over 70,000 people in 13 districts, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said yesterday, with two people dead and six injured.

The deaths were reported from Chankanai and Chavakachcheri areas. The effects of the cyclone, which made landfall on Wednesday, was still being felt two days later. Mannar, Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya in the North, along with Trincomalee, Kegalle, Matale, Puttalam, and Anuradhapura were affected. In total, 70,155 people belonging to 21,152 families were affected. 

This included 10, 604 people belonging to 2,899 families that were moved to 58 camps for safety, DMC spokesman Pradeep Kodippili told reporters. In addition 59 houses were completely destroyed, while 2,966 were partially damaged. 

The worst-affected area was the North, with 20,707 families made up of 68,630 people affected. In the Jaffna District, 54,163 people belonging to 16,250 families were affected; in Mannar, 2,227 families or 7,784 people were impacted; and in Kilinochchi, 4,334 people were caught in the cyclones path. Vavuniya District fared slightly better, with 137 families being affected. 

The DMC assured the affected families were being assisted by their respective District Secretariats.