|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
[December 27, 2004 - 3.00 GMT] President Chandrika Kumaratunga was informed early Sunday morning of the extensive damage to life and property in the Eastern and Southern region of the country. The President was in London at the time. Consequent to a powerful earth quake in Indonesia a series of ‘Tsunamis’ or tidal waves hit Sri Lanka’s coastal belt on Sunday morning. The President immediately declared a state of ‘National Disaster’ due to the seriousness of the situation. Within minutes senior officials were summoned to the Defence Ministry for a meeting to assess the situation and put in place rescue operations. The meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister. Several Cabinet Ministers, the Secretary to the President, the service chiefs and the IGP were at the conference. President
Kumaratunga told the BBC in London ‘We were not prepared for a natural disaster of this magnitude, we do have
frequent floods, but this is a catastrophe. She has appealed to the
international community for emergency assistance. Kumaratunga cut short her
visit and left London for home yesterday.
|
Contact Information: Send mail to 