Over 200 killed in Sri Lankan floods, now cyclone hits Bangladesh
By
Rohantha De Silva
2 June 2017
After record southwestern monsoon rains caused massive damage in Sri Lanka last week, parts of eastern India and Bangladesh were hit by Cyclone Mora on Tuesday.
According to the latest figures, 203 people were killed in Sri Lanka, 96 remain missing and over 60 are seriously injured. The Disaster Management Centre reports that over 600,000 people have been affected. Around 1,500 houses are fully destroyed and 7,000 partially damaged.
Many areas are still unreachable due to floods and over 50 deadly landslides, with workers and the rural poor the hardest hit. This includes thousands of tea and rubber plantation workers in Agalawatta and adjoining areas in Western Province, and in the Ratnapura district.
Thousands of people face the threat of dengue fever, cholera, diarrhea and dysentery due to the lack of basic sanitary and health facilities and cramped conditions in makeshift survivors’ camps. The Sirisena-Wickremsinghe government has so far failed to provide a concrete plan to cope with the situation.
Save the Children Sri Lanka chief Chris McIvor told Reuters that water-borne diseases were a major concern because of the damp and crowded conditions. According to government estimates, 40 percent of those affected do not have access to safe drinking water. Dengue fever, which was already at epidemic proportions before the floods, is expected to worsen as mosquitoes find new breeding grounds.
Entire communities remained marooned by floodwaters. Many survivors are forced to sleep outside because their homes have been destroyed.
“Getting in to these communities is of the highest priority right now so we can find out exactly what the needs…