50 wild elephants killed in Sri Lanka floods

Colombo, Jan 16 (PTI) Some 50 wild elephants have been killed due to the devastating Sri Lankan floods, which has displaced over a million people, according to the country''s Wildlife Conservation Department.

Chandrawansa Pathiraja, the Director General of SriLanka Wildlife Conservation Department, said around 50 wildel ephants have been reported killed due to floods.

He was quoted a saying by the ColomboPage online that a survey has been commenced in wildlife parks to ascertain the exact number of deaths of the wild elephants and other animals.

Local media recently published photos of a corpse of a baby elephant that was stuck between tree branches when it was washed away in floods.

Several wild animals also believed to have been perished due to floods.

Floods severely affected Lahugala, Somawathi,Maduruoya, Kumana and Kavudulla wildlife parks.

A large number of cattle have also been reported killed due to massive floods.

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that livestock losses will be significant, particularly in Batticaloa district, the report said. The UN agency reported that 48,679 cattle, 22,279goats, and 172,884 poultry have been lost.

More than a million people have been affected by the flooding in Sri Lanka and at least 37 have died over a week of devastation that has severely hit the centre and east of the country, including areas already destroyed by a three-decade civil war that ended in 2009.

Now the threat of water-borne diseases loomed withwater levels receding after the devastation caused by the monsoon floods.

A large number of those displaced were those who had only recently been resettled after decades of ethnic conflictbetween Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces.

Both local and international aid agencies said the water levels were rapidly going down with many people able to go back to their homes to assess the damage.

The authorities are yet to assess the extent of damage, but officials said vast tracks of rice and vegetable farms were destroyed and livestock also badly affected.

UN agencies in the capital plan to issue an international appeal for funding as providing relief for those in the worst affected areas was becoming a serious challenge.

India responded quickly to Sri Lanka''s call for assistance by sending a consignment of relief supply by an special air craft.

Army, Navy and Air Force personnel are working round the clock to provide water, food and shelter on a priority basis to all flood victims. PTI

Source:http://news.oneindia.in/2011/01/16/50wild-elephants-killed-in-sri-lankafloods-aid0126.html