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Displacement appeared to be a lifestyle forced upon the people of northern Sri Lanka as they last week reeled from the devastating effects of unprecedented floods in the region.
Flooding resulted after Typhoon Nisha swept through the area in late November, the latest in a cycle of natural and man-made disasters to hit a region where most of the population has undergone multiple displacements owing to the continued conflict and the tsunami of December 2004.
The National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) reports that the current floods in the north has killed 9 people, displaced over 70,000 and affected more than 300,000 people in the districts of Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Mannar and Trincomalee, according to UN and government figures.
Torrential rains lashed the Jaffna Peninsula throughout the last week causing severe flooding and totally submerging some areas. The rainfall level recorded over the last week was 719.4 mm.
“We have never experienced anything like this for the last fifty years,” says Vasanthan Thambinayagam, HEA District Coordinator for Jaffna.
“The causeways were damaged, the bridges wiped out and some of the islands remained inaccessible. People were transported in boats to the highlands,” said Vasanthan, “the electricity and phone lines were cut off and there was nearly four feet of water in the World Vision Office.”
Nearly 6,000 houses have been swept away with over 13,000 houses partially damaged.
The floods also disrupted education at a key time in the school curriculum when annual promotion examinations are conducted. The schools were used as temporary accommodation for the displaced until they were able to move to alternate locations.
The rains have now ceased and the examinations have commenced for the students but for most people it will take a few weeks more before life returns to normal.
The UN and other aid agencies continue to support the Government Agents (GA) in assisting the affected communities with cooked meals, drinking water, food and non food relief items (NFRIs).
World Vision in coordination with UNICEF distributed relief items including bed sheets, mosquito nets, towels, mats and sanitary items to over 500 families in the Chankanai Division in Jaffna.
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