Churches become relief camps after Sri Lanka cyclone

Cyclone Ditwah has been called the “most challenging” natural disaster in Sri Lanka’s history by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. At least 465 people have been killed, and many hundreds are still missing.

Two relief camps were set up at St Francis Xavier Church and in the Buddhist temple in Gurugalla, in Kegalle district, 60 kilometres from Colombo.

The area was badly hit by floods. The town has a diverse population of Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims, and is predominantly Buddhist.

Parish priest Fr Denzil Priyankara said the floods have receded, and volunteer teams, along with locals, have begun cleaning their homes, which are filled with mud and dirty water. Families were being provided with dry rations, but many had lost everything – clothes, furniture and kitchen utensils.

“It’s going to be a big challenge to help them begin life afresh,” said the priest.

The parish feast scheduled for December 7 has been postponed to accommodate the displaced people, Fr Priyankara said.

Our Lady of Mt Carmel Cathedral in Chilaw Diocese is sheltering around 800 people. Another 250 have taken refuge at St Anthony’s Church in Nainamadama, said its parish priest, Fr Peter Boteju.

In the Archdiocese of Colombo, more than 600 were accommodated in at least four different parish churches.

Material aid, worth over 3 million rupees (approximately NZ$20,000), has been collected by St Theresa’s Parish in Colombo for distribution among displaced families.

Seth Sarana of Caritas Colombo said its teams have distributed a million rupees in cash donations to support the first phase of relief work in the affected parishes.

FULL STORY

Churches, temples turn emergency camps in cyclone-hit Sri Lanka (UCA News)