AUTHORITIES made an appeal for international assistance as the death toll from heavy rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah rose to 123, with another 130 reported missing.
The extreme weather system has destroyed nearly 15,000 homes, sending almost 44,000 people to state-run temporary shelters, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said.
Director-General Sampath Kotuwegoda said relief operations had been strengthened with the deployment of thousands of troops from the army, navy and air force.
“We have 123 confirmed dead and another 130 missing,” Kotuwegoda told reporters in Colombo.
Cyclone Ditwah moved away from the island yesterday and began heading towards neighbouring India to the north, but it had already left massive destruction in its wake.
“Relief operations with the help of the armed forces are underway,” Kotuwegoda said.
Fresh landslides hit the central district of Kandy, 115km east of Colombo, with the main access road under water at several locations.
The government issued an appeal for international help and asked Sri Lankans abroad to make cash donations to support nearly half a million affected people.
Officials said Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya had met with Colombo-based diplomats to update them on the situation and seek the help of their governments.
India was the first to respond, sending two planeloads of relief supplies, while an Indian warship already in Colombo on a previously planned goodwill visit donated its rations to help victims. — AFP
