SINGAPORE: Mercy Relief will be deploying a disaster response team to flood-hit Sri Lanka on Tuesday (May 30) to conduct relief distribution operations with ground partners in the country, the Singapore-based disaster relief agency said in a press release on Sunday.
Deployed in response to an appeal for international assistance by the Sri Lankan government, the response team is expected to arrive on Tuesday morning.
Monsoon rain on Friday in Sri Lanka triggered the island's worst flooding in more than a decade, leaving at least 126 people dead, according to reports from the Disaster Management Centre in Sri Lanka.
"The team will be assessing and monitoring the varying needs of the communities affected," the agency said, adding that the team would distribute essentials such as food and hygiene items in the first phase of relief distribution efforts.
"Our thoughts are with the communities affected by the floods in Sri Lanka," said Mercy Relief’s executive director Zhang Tingjun. "We are currently assessing the most critical needs in order to ensure a timely and effective response.”
The official Disaster Management Centre said 93 remained missing as of Sunday morning while about 50 injured in landslides were hospitalised. More than 400,000 people remain displaced across 15 districts with seven districts on high alert for landslides, Mercy Relief added.
Mercy Relief said that it would not be launching a public fundraising appeal at this time, but members of the public interested in making donations and staying up to date on the relief efforts could visit its Facebook page.
Read more at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/mercy-relief-to-deploy-disaster-response-team-to-flood-hit-sri-8890408