Friday, 31 October 2014 01:52
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TRAGEDIES are never easy to deal with and the massive landslide in Haldumulla is no different. The greatest challenge now is to provide these people with sustained help and ensure a similar disaster does not take place in the surrounding areas.
Nearly 75 children have been grouped into two relief camps after the landslide crashed into an estimated 120 plantation homes, burying possibly hundreds of people. In fact the entire village of Meeriabedda Estate in the central hillside town of Haldumulla has been largely wiped out. The children mostly suffering from shock are among the few survivors of the village that once housed more than 60 families. Tracking the number of missing has proved difficult, given the records kept by the plantation company where most of these villagers were employed were also swept away by the landslide.
Most of the other children had left to school since the day started much like any other. Many heard of the landslide, which happened around 7:30 in the morning, much later in the day. Providing psychological assistance to these children as well as providing them a secure future will undoubtedly be the biggest challenge ahead.
State-run Disaster Management Centre, who is coordinating the relief effort, has announced three bodies have been found and 192 remain missing. But residents of nearby villages speaking to the Daily FT speculated the number to be around 300. If so, this could be the largest natural disaster faced by Sri Lanka since the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that claimed over 40,000 lives. Perhaps the true number of those lost on Tuesday will never be known but the extent of the assistance needed is certainly significant.
The blame game has already begun with villagers accusing provincial Government officials of not providing sufficient warning of potential landslides. The officials insist they have been attempting to move the inhabitants since 2005 and emphasised fresh warnings were released several days ago when rains first started lashing the area but charge the residents refused to leave.
Residents in turn charge practical alternative housing was never provided and practical needs such as the distances to their places of work and schools for the children were ignored. Others claimed houses that were promised to them were never completed or constructed in a haphazard way. For most in Meeriabedda, these are pointless arguments now.
Nonetheless, hundreds of people in the surrounding areas have taken some form of heed from the landslide and are flocking to relief camps, partially drawn by “goodies” handed out by relief organisations and the Government. In the melee it is getting increasingly difficult to identify those who most need help and provide it in a competent manner, especially since it will only be a matter of time before the relief measures become politicised. A possible presidential election around the corner complicates matters even further.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa who paid a hurried visit to the area met with Army personnel and Government officials leading relief operations on Wednesday. He also visited relief camps where relatives of those who lived in the Meeriabedda Estate are now housed.
However, he did not tour the actual landslide area where teams of soldiers are hacking away at thousands of cubic feet of mud in a massive search for bodies, preferring to view the area from his helicopter. Rajapaksa is expected to discuss relief measures at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday night.
Undoubtedly, a systematic relocation program along with a long-term program to protect the environment and prevent landslides is needed from the highest powers but a band aid solution is more likely.
