Attachments
This Emergency Appeal seeks 3,622,689 Swiss francs (CHF) to enable the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to support the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) in delivering assistance and support to 40,000 people affected by floods and landslides. The operation focuses on the following sectors: essential household items; shelter (emergency and recovery); livelihoods; water, sanitation and hygiene; health; restoring family links, disaster risk reduction and institutional disaster response capacity enhancement. The planned response reflects the current situation and information available at this time. It is likely to be adjusted based on further developments and detailed assessments. The appeal is being launched on a preliminary basis and may be revised if the context and assessments recommend it.
The disaster and the Red Cross Red Crescent response to date
14 May 2016: A tropical depression in the Bay of Bengal brought heavy rains across the country, triggering floods and landslides that have affected thousands of lives and livelihoods, and caused widespread property damage. Initial reports indicated 22 out of Sri Lanka’s 25 districts are reported to be affected, among them Colombo, Gampaha, Kegalle,
Kurunegala and Puttalam.
14-20 May: The SLRCS mobilized volunteers to provide immediate assistance, including evacuation services. An update entry made on DMIS and an information bulletin published.
20 May: Sri Lanka Government formally requests assistance from its international partners through a letter to OCHA Geneva.
21 May: CHF 249,443 allocated from the IFRC’s Disaster Emergency Relief Fund (DREF) to support SLRCS in addressing the immediate needs of up to 20,000 displaced people.
21-22 May: Joint teams with representation from the Disaster Management Committee (DMC), SLRCS, World Food Programme (WFP), and Family Planning Association (FPA) deployed to different areas (mostly heavily affected areas) for rapid assessments.
24 May: Emergency Appeal launched for CHF 3,622,689 to support SLRCS to scale-up the delivery of humanitarian assistance to 40,000 people.