01-01-2005, 12:12 PM
Asia - AFP
Sri Lanka tsunami refugee camps flooded in heavy rains
30 minutes ago Asia - AFP
COLOMBO (AFP) - At least 15 camps sheltering some 30,000 tsunami survivors were hit by flash floods and evacuated in Sri Lanka's eastern district of Ampara, a regional official said.
Massive rains dumped 330 millimetres of water overnight inundating the tsunami-devastated coastal region and crippled all relief operations, district chief Herath Abeyweera told AFP.
He said a team of 20 Japanese medical staff were unable to move out to camps that were four feet (1.2 metres) underwater while all relief convoys were also held up by the heavy flooding.
The heavy rain forced another 10,000 people out of their homes, adding to the problem of caring for 160,000 tsunami refugees in the Ampara district, he said.
Several bridges either collapsed or were underwater cutting off the main access roads to the region, the worst affected by the tsunami that killed more than 28,400 people killed and left almost 14,000 missing.
The death toll in Ampara alone is estimated at 10,436, local officials said.
<img src='http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/nws/th/afp_lo_1.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
Sri Lanka tsunami refugee camps flooded in heavy rains
30 minutes ago Asia - AFP
COLOMBO (AFP) - At least 15 camps sheltering some 30,000 tsunami survivors were hit by flash floods and evacuated in Sri Lanka's eastern district of Ampara, a regional official said.
Massive rains dumped 330 millimetres of water overnight inundating the tsunami-devastated coastal region and crippled all relief operations, district chief Herath Abeyweera told AFP.
He said a team of 20 Japanese medical staff were unable to move out to camps that were four feet (1.2 metres) underwater while all relief convoys were also held up by the heavy flooding.
The heavy rain forced another 10,000 people out of their homes, adding to the problem of caring for 160,000 tsunami refugees in the Ampara district, he said.
Several bridges either collapsed or were underwater cutting off the main access roads to the region, the worst affected by the tsunami that killed more than 28,400 people killed and left almost 14,000 missing.
The death toll in Ampara alone is estimated at 10,436, local officials said.
<img src='http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/nws/th/afp_lo_1.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>

