The World Bank has approved US$38 million in additional financing for the Community Livelihoods in former Conflict-Affected Areas Project (Re-awakening Project) to respond to lives and livelihoods devastated by the heaviest rains in one hundred years.

More than 1.2 million people in 16 districts were affected by the rain in November and December 2010 which caused devastating flooding and landslides. Around 363,000 people were displaced in 630 temporary relocation centers mostly in the Eastern, Northern, and Central Provinces. The districts of Batticaloa, Ampara, and Trincomalee suffered the most, accounting for 94% of the affected population. Some 500,000 have become food insecure requiring immediate assistance to avoid hunger and malnutrition.

“The support will aid flood victims return to their villages to rehabilitate their land, restore village infrastructure, and re-establish their lives,” World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives Diarietou Gaye said.

According to preliminary official estimates of the Ministry of Finance and Planning (MOFP), the cost of the flood impact stands at US$ 500 million for rehabilitation of the rural infrastructure such as small-scale irrigation, rural roads, drinking water supply, housing, electricity, health and schools as well as cost of livelihood production damage in crops, livestock and fisheries.

The floods have also affected those households deriving incomes from non-farm sources due to the loss of their productive assets and severely impacted the livelihoods of around 15,000 fisher families, due the loss of equipment such as nets and boats.

The project is expected to bring 100,000 hectares of paddy lands back into cultivation, repair 600km of rural roads to ensure full connectivity, provide 10,000 families access to safe drinking water, and restore livelihood assets and opportunities for 50,000 households.