As floodwaters inundate the Eastern provinces of Ampara,
Batticaloa, Trincomalee, as well as other areas in Sri Lanka, the
UN and the government have asked IOM to coordinate the work of aid
agencies providing emergency shelter and essential non-food relief
items to over 1.1 million displaced people.

According to the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre (DMC)
some 1,106,555 people have been affected by the floods in Eastern
and Northern areas. Over 58,000 are now sheltering in displacement
camps in Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Ampara.

Following a request from the DMC, IOM has also agreed to provide
free transport and logistics for humanitarian supplies for flood
victims donated by other aid agencies.

It is also providing transport in Batticaloa and Ampara for the
regional health authorities to undertake health assessments, move
health workers and implement public health activities in
flood-affected areas.

IOM has maintained a strong presence in eastern Sri Lanka since
the 2004 tsunami. Following the cessation of conflict in the area
in 2007, it launched a number of other reconstruction and
livelihood projects. Its Ampara sub-office has over 50 trained
emergency staff and the Batticaloa sub-office has 15. More staff
are being drafted in from IOM Colombo and other sub-offices
country-wide.

Pending a major consolidated flash appeal for funds due to be
launched later this week, IOM has already committed USD 24,000 to
provide 400 kits of essential non-food relief items in eastern
districts and in Anuradhapura, in the North Central Province, where
almost 3,000 families have been affected by the floods.

It has also committed up to USD 200,000 to support 2,000
households with emergency livelihoods restart grants or home garden
start up kits to enable them to replant crops when the flood waters
subside.

In the consolidated appeal, IOM will ask for funding to provide
emergency shelter and essential non-food relief items, to transport
relief supplies, to help people to repair their flood damaged homes
and restart their livelihoods, and to provide emergency health
referrals and public health outreach in flood-affected
communities.

For more information please contact:

Lorena Lando

Tel: +94 (0)11 5325300

E-mail: "mailto:llando@iom.int">llando@iom.int 

or

Nicola Rounce

IOM Colombo

Tel: +94 (0)11 5325300

E-mail: "mailto:nrounce@iom.int">nrounce@iom.int