Trincomalee, Batticaloa flooded

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 January 2011, 03:39 GMT]
Heavy rain fall since Saturday night has brought the normal life in the three districts of East, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampaarai, to standstill and almost all the villages including DS offices are under water. According to latest figures, in Batticaloa district alone 421,851 persons from 112,039 families have been affected. The two districts, Trincomalee and Batticaloa, were experiencing heavy rain with strong winds till Sunday evening amid fears that it might develop as a cyclone. Several thousand villagers including uprooted and sheltered in transit camps in Trincomalee district awaiting resettlement in Champoor in Moothoor East are again displaced and sought refuge at various places and desperation prevails in many divisions of the Eastern Province.

Batticaloa district recorded the highest rainfall of 312 mm during the weekend, according to Meteorological Department. 31,217 persons from 7,927 families of them have been displaced and sheltered in 97 transit camps in Batticaloa, according to reports of the Disaster Management Centre (DMC).

Train services from Batticaloa and Trincomalee to Colombo have been cancelled as railway lines in several places have gone under water.

The Gal-Oya railway station is under two feet of water.

Education Department say that Zonal Directors of Education have been empowered to close all schools in flood affected areas and where displaced people are sheltered in their respective zones.

In Batticaloa district travelling in several areas has been disrupted due to flood and uprooted trees following strong winds. The supply of electricity has been cut off to several areas following lightning and heavy winds. Villukku'lam in Kokkaddichchoalai is about to breach as it has reached its capacity, according to Batticaloa Government Agent Mr.Suntharam Arumainayagam.

Paduvaankarai and Ka'luvaagnchikkudi villages are submerged in flood.

The bridge at Kurukka'lmadam that links Batticaloa and Ampaa'rai has been washed away by the flood.

All travelling via this bridge has come to halt Akkaraipattu has recorded a rainfall of 215 mm since 4 p.m. on Saturday till Sunday morning.

Displaced families due to rain and flood entering their dwellings have sought refuge in close by public buildings and schools.

In the Trincomalee district, twenty three villages including resettled in the Moothoor DS division are submerged in the flood.

Three transit camps located in Ki'liveddi, Paddith-thidal and Ma'natcheanai sheltering Champoor uprooted Tamil families have gone under rain water.

The inmates are on the road trying to find alternate places to stay till the situation improves. Authorities concerned are making arrangements to allow them to stay in schools close to their transit camps.

Chantha'navedai, a village where uprooted families have been resettled is marooned with flood from all sides.

No assistance has been provided to them currently said to be staying in a damaged building of a school, sources from Moothoor say.

In Thampalakaamam division, several suburbs known as Koayiladi, Kallimeadu, Chippiththidal, Mu'l'liyadi, and Paththinipuram have gone under water.

Ten sluice gates of the Kantha'laai Tank, the biggest in the district have been opened Sunday morning by the irrigation authorities as it has reached its capacity of 1, 16,000 acre feet.

Farmers fear that overflowing water could damage about three thousand acres of paddy crops in the low lying paddy fields.

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