Colombo – As Sri Lanka struggles to cope with the effects of its second wave of torrential monsoon rains in two months, the United Nations Central Emergency Fund (CERF) and US Agency for International Development (USAID) have contributed USD 950,000 to IOM's flood relief effort.

According to Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Centre (DMC), the floods in the country's Eastern, Central and Northern provinces are the worst in 100 years, with 15 districts and 1.2 million people affected. Some 17,000 houses have been destroyed or damaged and some 67,500 families are now living in 686 displacement camps.

IOM will today take delivery of a USAID consignment of 600 rolls of plastic sheeting for 6,000 displaced families and 1,000 family mosquito nets flown in from Dubai.

The donation, which is part of USAID's USD 245,250 contribution to IOM's USD 8.36 million initial appeal for funds, will be trucked to affected areas and distributed in close cooperation with the local authorities next week.

IOM is already using USD 600,000 for essential non-food relief items (NFIs) and USD 100,000 for health donated by the CERF to support DMC relief operations in Ampara, Batticaloa, Killinochchi and Vavuniya districts. To date IOM has delivered and is distributing 9,000 plastic sheets and 2,500 NFI kits comprising sleeping mats, clothing, towels, mosquito coils, kitchen utensils, plastic buckets and plastic sheets to flood victims in Batticaloa, Ampara, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and Killinochchi districts.

IOM is also coordinating the "Cluster" of aid agencies providing shelter and NFIs to flood victims.

IOM's health unit has also deployed two medical officers to coordinate health sector operations and is providing eight vehicles to transport government health workers to flood affected areas in Batticaloa, Ampara, Trincomalee, Pollonaruwa, Vavuniya and Anuradhapura districts to conduct mobile clinic and disease surveillance activities under the supervision of the Regional Director of Health Services.

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For more information please contact: Lorena Lando, IOM Colombo, Tel: +94 (0)11 5325300, Email: llando@iom.int or Giuseppe Loprete, IOM Colombo, Tel: +94 (0)11 5325300, E-mail: gloprete@iom.int