COLOMBO (Reuters) - Flooding displaced more than 20,000 people from their homes in eastern Sri Lanka as a depression over the Bay of Bengal increased monsoon rains, officials said on Tuesday.
Flooding and displacement are common in Sri Lanka, where a southern monsoon batters the island between May and September, and a northeastern monsoon runs from December to February.
The eastern district of Ampara, a largely flat agricultural area which was hard hit by the 2004 tsunami, has taken the brunt of this downpour, with neighboring Batticaloa also affected.
So far, 22,612 people have been displaced, said Ramya Siriwansa, deputy director of emergency operations at the National Disaster Management Centre.
"They are not in camps, they are at relatives' and friends' houses."
Around 400 acres of paddy fields were damaged by flood waters up to two feet deep, although the level was receding, he added.
Some roads were blocked by landslides in Nuwara Eliya district in the central tea-growing hills, where 80 houses were damaged, he added.
The Meteorology Department forecast continued rainfall in coming days, but said it would not be heavy.
Flooding and drought are cyclical in Sri Lanka.
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![](http://www.vrtnieuws.net/polopoly_fs/1.223802!image/3163015602.jpg)
di 25/12/07 - In Sri Lanka zijn meer dan 150.000 mensen dakloos na zware overstromingen. Die zijn veroorzaakt door hevige moessonregens.
Vooral het oosten en het centrale deel van het eiland zijn zwaar getroffen.
Door de overstromingen is ook een groot waterreservoir gebarsten en hebben de mensen geen zuiver drinkwater meer.
Dezelfde streek werd ook zwaar getroffen door de rampzalige tsunami van 3 jaar geleden.
Bron: vrtnieuws
Monsoon flooding has forced more than 30,000 people in east Sri Lanka from their homes, with many taking refuge in temporary shelters like huts, schools and mosques. Flooding and ensuing mass displacement are common in Sri Lanka, fuelled by monsoon rains.
In December, 175,000 people took refuge in welfare centres and temples in the eastern and central parts of the country following flash floods. The latest flooding hit the eastern district of Ampara, a largely flat agricultural area with a coastline that was hammered by the 2004 tsunami and where infrastructure has long been neglected because of a protracted war between the state and Tamil Tigers.
Many flee to shelters for Internally Diplaced People (IDP). "Due to the activation of the north-eastern monsoon, 31,042 people have been displaced and of that, 10,869 people are in 20 IDP camps," said H Dharmapriya, assistant director at the National Disaster Management Centre. "The water levels are receding and there are no heavy rains as such at the moment." He said one third of the displaced were in temporarily shelters while the rest were housed with relatives.
The Meteorology Department forecast continued rainfall in coming days, but said it would not be heavy. Flooding and drought are cyclical in Sri Lanka, where a southern monsoon batters the island between May and September, and a north-eastern monsoon runs from December to February. In early December 20,000 people were displaced in Ampara as a depression over the Bay of Bengal compounded monsoon rains.
- Reuters