Aid agencies were struggling today to get emergency supplies to the most remote parts of the devastated island of Sri Lanka. Flash floods caused by almost 24 hours of torrential rain have washed away the key roads and sent more people to find refuge in the hastily set-up emergency shelters.
Nine out of 22 emergency camps in the Alanaichchani region in the east of the country were flooded by the heavy rains. Water cascaded into the corridors, hallways and rooms of the schools and churches which had been turned into emergency shelters. A Christian Aid spokesman said that people refused to move and spent last night standing up because there was nowhere to sleep. There is now great concern about the health and sanitation problems that this will cause.
Over the last week international aid agencies have sent co-ordinators out in the field to assess the problems and they have then requested supplies from the capital Colombo. Lorries filled with tents and non-food supplies have been despatched to the east and south coast but have been hampered by the rains and bad roads.
Ms Anjali Kwatra, from Christian Aid, said they had requested supplies from their Sri Lankan partner the National Christian Council in Colombo. She said: "Food aid has got through but other supplies such as tents, hurricane lamps, water and sleeping mattresses may have had more difficulty getting through because the rain is causing localised flooding.
"The rain is also causing another problem because people who were not affected by the tsunami are now being affected by the floods and are joining the camps."
As the aid agencies try to assess the extent of the damage, there has been some criticism of the government's lack of leadership. The government has been completely overwhelmed by the tragedy and many of its officials in the east and south have been affected, some of them killed. For a country that relies on local government officials for its day to day running, this has spelt disaster.
The latest figures state that 26,400 are confirmed dead, 4,800 are still missing, 12,000 are injured and 850,000 people are displaced. A total of 780 camps have been set up around the country but these are currently not co-ordinated and are lacking amenities. The various aid organisations in Sri Lanka are now working together, liaising on a daily basis, but this is taking time. Their work has not been helped by aid being blocked at the airport in the first few days after the tsunami disaster.
In the east, French aid agency Action Contre La Faim (ACF) hosted a meeting in Batticaloa today which was attended by Unicef, Oxfam, Christian Aid and the Sri Lankan government. Sanitation in the camps and shelters is seen as the most pressing problem. Water bowsers and tanks are desperately needed to bring clean water to the hundreds of thousands in the camps.
PA