COLOMBO // Sri Lanka appealed to the United Nations for help with searching for victims of the landslides, despite hopes fading of finding more than 100 people who are still missing following heavy rains that buried homes in southern and western parts of the country.
At least 103 people were confirmed killed, 113 were missing and more than 230,000 were displaced by the landslides on Friday, the national disaster management centre said.
Maj Gen Sudantha Ranasinghe, who was leading the search and rescue mission, doubted that any survivors would be found. Earth and rocks had crashed down in such a way that survival was unlikely and most of the affected places were still flooded, making access difficult.
“In landslides, it’s difficult to find survivors after two days, and today is the second day,” he said.
The army, navy and air force were still trying to reach marooned villagers and move people from areas prone to mudslides, he said. Delivering emergency aid to some areas was also proving difficult.
The military used large armoured vehicles and boats to transport people to safety, but some remained trapped in villages in the interior. Home affairs minister Vajira Abeywardena said that while the worst of the rain was over, there was a danger of fresh flooding downstream.
“There are several remote places which are still inaccessible,” Mr Abeywardena said. “We have reports of places where neither helicopters nor boats can reach.” He urged people living in low-lying areas to move to higher ground and said the government was air dropping 10,000 life jackets for marooned people until they could be moved to safer ground.
The government has set up 104 temporary shelters in public buildings to accommodate those driven from their homes by flooding and landslides, he added.
An Indian naval ship carrying medical supplies docked in Colombo on Saturday and a second, larger vessel was expected on Monday with more aid.
The flooding this year is the worst since May 2003, when 250 people were killed and 10,000 homes destroyed after a similarly powerful monsoon. Last May, a massive landslide killed more than 100 people.
Mudslides have become common during the monsoon season in Sri Lanka as land has been heavily deforested to grow export crops such as tea and rubber.
* Associated Press and Agence France-Presse