Relief to flood affected LKA111
Appeal Target: US$ 235,153
Balance Requested: US$132,608
Geneva, 8 April 2011
Dear Colleagues,
As of 26 December 2010 a persistent depression over the Bay of Bengal brought heavy rains which have resulted in floods, land slides and displacement in several districts in Sri Lanka since the beginning of January. According to the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), 1,246,545 people from 333,383 families have been affected by the bad weather conditions. Women and children are amongst the worst affected. Nearly 273,995 people had sought shelter in 534 temporary camps (schools, churches and public buildings), 225 of them in Batticaloa district, set up by the government.
Once the water receded, most of the families returned to their original places but find it difficult to rehabilitate due to major losses to property and livelihoods. Several families continue to live with host families, as their houses have been destroyed or are not fit to live in.
As on 25 February the GoSL estimated that the floods damaged more than 95 percent of rice paddys in Batticaloa. Farmers whose crops have been damaged or destroyed may not have sufficient resources to purchase seeds for the upcoming yala planting season, typically beginning in mid-March or April. For the displaced farmers who had accrued debt in order to purchase seeds for the current season, livelihoods degradation is a serious concern. Families typically dedicate one-half to one acre of land to home gardening, providing households with a source of food. In Batticaloa District, floods destroyed up to 20,000 acres of home gardening plots.
During the crisis phase ACT member, the National Christian Council in Sri Lanka (NCCSL) with the support of its partner church members in Batticaloa, Anuradhapura and Ampara as well as CBOs in Polonaruwa and Badulla, provided cooked meals and dry rations to over 3,000 families, kitchen utensils for 125 families and education packages for 1,000 students. Other ACT members, present in the country through regular development programmes, also responded to the humanitarian needs in their respective operational areas, through their regular development partners. During the post crisis phase, NCCSL and its partners will focus on prioritised needs, i.e. rehabilitation of livelihood and restoration of mud built homes.
Project Start/Completion Date: 1 January – 31 July 2011