Sri Lanka seeks foreign help as Cyclone Ditwah death toll reaches 132

Colombo [Sri Lanka], November 30: Sri Lanka has made an appeal for international assistance as the death toll from heavy rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah rose to 132, with another 176 reported missing. The extreme weather system has destroyed nearly 15,000 homes across the country, sending almost 44,000 people to state-run temporary shelters, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said on Saturday.
Although Cyclone Ditwah was heading towards neighbouring India to the north on Saturday, more landslides have hit the central district of Kandy, 115km east of the capital Colombo, with the main access road under water at several locations.
DMC Director-General Sampath Kotuwegoda said relief operations had been strengthened with the deployment of thousands of members of the army, navy and air force as he announced the latest casualty figures.
Mahesh Gunasekara, the secretary-general of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, said many people have been stranded in various flood-hit areas as rescue crews are trying to reach them.
"Relief needs have been increasing. After two days, water has still been swelling," he said.
The government issued an appeal for international help and asked Sri Lankans abroad to make cash donations to support nearly half a million affected people. India was the first to respond, sending two planeloads of relief supplies, while an Indian warship already in Colombo on a previously planned goodwill visit donated its rations to help victims. (Agencies)
Source: Qatar Tribune