Sri Lankan Flooding - Update
Here is the latest information from Shelterbox on the current flooding in Sri Lanka. As they don’t yet have a clear picture of the aid required, the best assistance is by making donations to ShelterBox Solutions. That way the donations can be used to provide exactly the types of aid required.
What ShelterBox is doing
- It is assessing the need to respond to mudslides and flooding in Sri Lanka.
- They are flying in to assist the Sri Lankan Government led relief efforts, work with partner charities and local Rotary Clubs, and to make urgent plans to help local families and communities recover.
- Their work responding in Sri Lanka last year means they have the best possible experience in how to level and drain sites on the island, and they’ll be working with partners and the Sri Lanka government to share their expertise.
The situation
- The floods in Sri Lanka are the worst in 14 years after record rainfall in the southwest and it hasn’t stopped yet. Monsoon rains are still falling, and many rivers are still overflowing.
- Up to half a million people have been affected and around 85,000 have been made homeless.
- The Sri Lankan government has appealed to the United Nations for help with rescue and relief.
Shelterbox response in Sri Lanka in 2016
- Last year ShelterBox responded to flooding in Sri Lanka, and worked in partnership with the Rotary Club of Capital City in Colombo, who provided invaluable in-country local knowledge from a network of Rotarians across the island, and with the International Organisation for Migration and World Vision.
ShelterBox provided tents and other aid to hundreds of families across six different camps. The work was complex because land had to be levelled and drained before it could be used safely for pitches, ensuring occupants wouldn’t be at risk from further storms and flooding.