President calls for permanent housing solutions in high-risk disaster-prone areas

Saturday, 6 December 2025 01:56 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake

Instructs officials to gather accurate data for effective compensation disbursement
Calls for long-term solutions to avoid repeat disaster-related housing damage
Initial estimates show over 1,200 homes destroyed, 44,500 partially damaged

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday instructed officials to collect accurate data on houses affected by the adverse weather for effective compensation disbursements and to provide long-term solutions for housing in flood and landslide risk-prone areas.

At meeting with officials from the Finance Ministry’s National Housing Development Authority (NHDA), the President requested them to ensure that the identification of fully and partially damaged houses affected by adverse weather conditions is carried out according to a proper and transparent methodology.

He further directed them to establish a special mechanism to gather accurate data efficiently, which is essential for the compensation process.

The discussion was convened to review the damage caused to houses by Cyclone Ditwah and to assess the progress of the compensation process.

Highlighting the importance of providing long-term, stable solutions to people living in high-risk and disaster-prone areas so that they are not repeatedly affected by such calamities, the President instructed officials to prioritise the collection of reliable data to support these efforts.

Officials of the NHDA briefed the President that, according to preliminary assessments, 1,289 houses have been completely destroyed, while approximately 44,500 houses have sustained partial damage due to landslides and related impacts.