People gather at an area affected by floods, following heavy rainfall in Malwana, Sri Lanka.
Credit: Reuters
Colombo: Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has declared a state of emergency throughout the island in view of the emergency situation that has emerged following the devastation caused by a powerful cyclone even as India delivered more relief supplies to the island nation.
Under its Operation Sagar Bandhu, India on Saturday sent around 21 tonnes of relief materials in two military transport aircraft, a day after delivering the first tranche of over six tonnes of essential supplies.
India also sent two urban search and rescue teams comprising 80 National Disaster Response Force personnel even as two Chetak helicopters on board aircraft carrier INS Vikrant joined the rescue efforts, according to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
A total of around 27 tonnes of relief materials delivered by air and sea and more is on the way, he said on social media.
As flight services were severely disrupted, the Indian High Commission in Colombo announced that it is setting up an emergency helpline at the Bandaranaike international airport in the Sri Lankan capital city to help Indian citizens in need of support.
The High Commission of India is providing all required assistance including food and water to Indian passengers stranded at the airport, the mission said.
According to an official gazette dated Friday and released on Saturday, the state of emergency has been declared throughout the island.
On Friday, at an all-party meeting, the opposition leaders called for the state of emergency to be declared. The doctors' trade union in a letter addressed to Dissanayake underscored the need to impose a state of emergency.
The regulations are expected to expedite the process of relief coordination and rescue operations.
The need for speedy deployment of troops, police, the health sector, civil administration and the civil defence force to tackle the crisis situation is to be facilitated through the state of emergency, officials said.
Cyclone Ditwah on Saturday exited Sri Lanka that left more than 120 dead, amid a trail of destruction and damage to infrastructure, entering the south Indian coastal line, meteorological officials said.
“We noticed Ditwah exiting Sri Lanka and heading towards the Indian coast,” Athula Karunanayake, director general of the meteorology department, told reporters.
However, its indirect impact with heavy rains and high speed winds will remain for some time, he added.
The official death toll at 9 am was 123 while 130 remain missing, according to the Disaster Management Centre (DMC).
The figure is expected to be much higher as severely affected areas suffer communication breakdown due to bad weather which has hampered verification of the impact from the disaster.