1 million affected by Sri Lanka floods.

Colombo, Sri Lanka (CNN) -- Aid workers
scrambled to help more than a million people in
Sri Lanka suffering from massive flooding
described by the government as the worst
natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami.
At least 23 people have died and 36 others were
injured in the destruction wrought by torrential
rains, the Disaster Management Center said.
The Sri Lankan government and United Nations
agencies were beefing up efforts to address
increasingly dire humanitarian needs.
"We share the strong concern over the
immediate requirements of over one million
affected, especially the most vulnerable including
children," said Neil Buhne, the U.N. humanitarian
coordinator in Sri Lanka.
He said the global body was already looking at
longer-term effects from damage to agriculture,
infrastructure and housing. About 125,000 acres
of the nation's staple rice crop has been
destroyed, the government estimated.
The full extent of the damage cannot be assessed
until flood waters in northern and central
provinces recede, but Mahinda Amaraweera,
minister of Disaster Management, told a news
conference the losses were severe.
So far, he said, the government
has allocated more than $1.5
million for recovery efforts and
prompted the largest military
response since the 2009 defeat of
the Tamil Tigers. More than 28,000
troops, backed by transport
helicopters and navy boats, were
engaged in rescue and food
delivery operations.
Many of the people in flood-affected areas are still
recovering from the 25-year bloody conflict
between the government and the rebel Tamil
Tigers.
George Sigamoney, secretary-general of the
Catholic charitable organization Caritas in Sri
Lanka, said it has been difficult to access places
affected by overflowing rivers, broken dams and
drowned roads.
"Hundreds of farmers had started to cultivate
their fields again after the war," he said on the
Caritas website. "But these efforts are turning to
be futile as the rains continue to lash the rice
growing areas. A lot of houses from our shelter
programs have been damaged in the floods as
well."
The U.N. World Food Programme said it was
"facing major breaks in food supplies." It said
rations for people returning home after the war
has been significantly reduced since October.
Sigamoney feared more misery lay ahead with
shortages and exploding prices of basic food
items.
"The poor will find it even more difficult to afford
the most basic food items", he said.


Source: Http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/01/13/sri.lanka.troops.rescue/