President extends state of public emergency in Sri Lanka

Colombo, Dec 28 (PTI) President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Sunday extended the state of public emergency declared a month ago when the Ditwah cyclone made its landfall, leaving a trail of destruction.

The gazette notifying the extension by one month was issued by the Secretary to the President to ensure “protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community” The emergency was declared to coordinate all relief agencies, including the military, to deliver rescue and relief assistance. Fifteen different services, including media, were included as essential services under the emergency order.

Widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse across the island nation severely strained the country's disaster-response capacity, which was hit by Sri Lanka in November. It damaged crops, tea estates and critical transport infrastructures, including roads and bridges.

The president is empowered to impose a state of emergency limited to one month at a time. It can be extended monthly but must be ratified by parliament within a week.

As of December 28, as many as 638 people have died, and 175 are still missing since November 16, as landslides, floods and rainfall caused widespread destruction, according to the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) in Colombo.

While 6,121 houses were fully damaged, 1,14,314 houses were damaged partially, the DMC added. PTI CORR SKS RD RD