Colombo: The head of the Salesians in Sri Lanka has sought urgent help for the island nation where destructive gale and rains have brought life to a standstill.
“As Salesians we are here to help the people in desperate need although we ourselves are also suffering just as much as the people in general,” says Fr Joseph Almeida, provincial of Salesians in Sri Lanka.
Floodwaters and landslides have forced hundreds of thousands of people to leave their homes, report agencies.
At least 37 people have died and 21 are missing after three days of incessant rains that came just a couple weeks before the monsoon season.
Emergency workers have been rescuing people trapped in their homes by rising waters. Fields and streets are submerged throughout the country.
The Colombo-based Disaster Management Center says 223,687 people have been affected by the floods and landslides. Some 200,000 people are currently being housed in hundreds of welfare centers across the country.
The downpour caused flash flooding and destructive landslides across the country. Thirteen bodies were recovered by rescue teams in Aranayake, Kegalle District, after a massive landslide hit a number of villages in the area.
According to the Red Cross, 200 families were initially buried by the debris but rescue teams had managed to reach over 180 people.
The rains have come ahead of the regular monsoonal downpour expected later next month and are the result of a depression in the Bay of Bengal, according to weather forecasters.
The Salesian provincial says they are now busy providing relief and basic necessities to these flood victims.
He said the major storm ripped of the Provincial House’s roof, uprooted trees and brought down power lines in their town. “Our chapel within the Provincial House is flooded forcing us to even shift things out to a temporary room to be used as a place for prayer. Most people in the vicinity have had their homes and personal property destroyed suffering crippling losses.”
In the national capital of Colombo, businesses were forced to close their doors and many lost their entire inventory in the floods. “We need your heartfelt prayers especially during this difficult period. Please pray for the people of Sri Lanka,” the provincial wrote to all his conferrers around the globe.
According to him, the country’s western and northern coastal regions are flooded while huge landslides have caused massive destruction in the central province. Thousands of people have taken refuge in local churches and parishes.
Salesians institutions in the North and Western Provinces now feed children and youth in their boarding houses.
“We are hoping and praying that the weather condition improves before we run out of food for the children in the boarding. It is only after the weather improves and the floods recede that we would be able to access the amount of damages and loses that have been caused by the floods and gale to our institutions,” Fr Almeida writes.
He says the Salesians and their students are waiting for the floods to recede to launch relief operations. They plan to distribute rice, clothes, potable water, hygiene materials, bed sheets, mattresses and other materials to those seriously affected. “We ask for your generous support and donations in these trying times so that, together, we can help alleviate the plight of the flood victims,” the provincial pleads.