Over 190 missing after landslide in central Sri Lanka

More than 190 people still remain missing and 8 confirmed dead following a massive landslide that buried a village in central Sri Lanka yesterday around 7:15 in the morning on 29 October. The mudslide has wiped out over 150 line-houses of tea estate workers at a tea estate in Haldummulla, Badulla.

Following the prevailing bad weather condition the National Building Research Organization issued a landslide warning Tuesday night with a level-2 warning covering several divisional secretariat divisions including Badulla in the Central area.

“Wednesday early morning around 7:00 am, we noticed a severe crack on the ground closer to our house. Soon the earth began to shift and several feet away from where my house was the earth began to slip away creating about 150 – 200 feet drop. I began to shout to all the people and began to run,” says Rasaiya, 49, a community member.

“There was a terrible noise that I can’t even describe. It was like a massive waterfall. I didn’t think we would survive. People were confused as to what was going on,” he says, “I just kept shouting for them to run.”

Over 800 people who survived the disaster are now sheltered in two schools that were turned into safe centres. The children who had gone to school that morning avoided the disaster but the reports say many lost their families. Currently there are 284 children (45 are under 5 years, the others under 12) in the two safe centres.

A World Vision team from the Meegahakiula area, located 50 km from the disaster location, reached the affected area within hours.

“There was a terrible noise that I can’t even describe. I didn’t think we would survive."

“Although we reached the affected area last evening itself we could not commence the distribution right away. The District Disaster Management and Coordination Unit and government officials adviced us to hold our distribution until they confirm numbers affected,” says Nagoda Vithana, World Vision Meegahakiula Programme Manager.

“At about 5 o’clock this morning our team was able to start the distribution and we have completed distribution of Non-food Items and hygiene kits to over 150 families in the two centres,” he said.

The most pressing needs at the moment are for mosquito nets, children’s clothes, milk bottles and to attend to the psychosocial needs of the children who have lost their families.

“World Vision is looking for support in attending to the unaccompanied children in the two centers by setting up Child Friendly Spaces and mobilizing World Vision and Ministry of Health trained counselors to provide psychosocial support,” says Amenthi Dabare, Manager, Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs of World Vision Lanka.

“For the first 5 days we are looking at management under the local govt. pre-school teachers and also WVL trained counsellors under the north mental health programme,” she said.

The most pressing needs at the moment are for mosquito nets, children’s clothes, milk bottles and to attend to the psychosocial needs of the children who have lost their families.

Meanwhile World Vision is currently conducting a rapid assessment on the situation and has already committed around 300 packs of non-food item kits, hygiene kits, tarpaulin sheets, blankets and jerry cans to the affected families that would be distributed in the week to come.

While the search and rescue operations by the army and the Police continue despite poor weather conditions, Red Cross and the Disaster Management Centre are also on the ground providing the affected families with sanitation facilities and drinking water.