Matara District

Affected Divisional Secretary Divisions

(1) Matara

(2) Weligama

(3) Devinuwara

(4) Dikwella

Affected People

Number of affected families: 19,744
Total number of deaths: 1,221
Total number of persons displaced: 9,508
Number of persons who were in welfare camps at the initial stage: 23,480
Number of welfare camps at initial stage: 69
Existing welfare camps: 22
Existing number of persons in welfare camps: 3,102

Damages to Different Sectors

Sector	Nature of the Damage	Estimated Cost (Rs.Mn.)
Road	Roads belong to RDA and Provincial Council, Matara Municipal Council, Devinuwara Pradeshiya Sabha damaged.	94
Telecommunication	Telecommunication building and boundary wall, office equipment, office furniture, vehicles and outside lines damaged.	170
Electricity	High Tension Lines, Low Tension Lines, Buildings of Service Centre, Vehicles, Single phase matters and other equipment damaged.	62
Housing	2223 houses were fully damaged, 6675 houses were partly damaged.	1163
Fisheries	Fishing Crafts (Multi day boats, One day boats, FRP Boats, Local boats, Traditional boats) and Fisheries Habour damaged.	439
Agriculture	242 acres of paddy, 15 acres of vegetable and fruit lands and Thalalla Agrarian Services Centre damaged.	16
Water Supply	Water Meters, House Connections, Pipelines, and Pumps and equipment damaged.	55
Banking	Office equipment, Furniture, Stationeries and Properties of Ruhuna Development Bank, NSB, People’s Bank at Matara damaged.	114
Health	RDHS office building, vehicle, furniture and office equipment damaged.	11
Education	School Buildings, Furniture, Sanitary Facilities, Electricity, Water etc. damaged.	65
Other	Local Authorities, Co-operative Societies and other Government Institutions	304
Total		2,493

Actions Taken

Cooked food and dry rations were distributed
First-Aid and health facilities were restored.
Water and sanitation, electricity and other facilities were provided.
Progress review meetings were held daily.
Cooperation of Political Authorities, Government Organizations, NGO’s and general public were obtained in the restoration of services.
Estimates on damages were prepared and temporary houses for displaced people provided.
Students and teachers of damaged schools were affiliated to other schools nearby.
2,670 transitional houses were provided.
Construction of 722 houses were completed.
Construction of 133 houses are in progress.

Confronted Problems and Issues

Lack of funds for fulfilling the necessities.
Poor knowledge and experience of the staff in handling disaster management.
Scarcity of public lands nearby the affected areas.
Scarcity of skilled labour.
Difficulty in finding suitable buildings for resettling displaced persons.

Challenges Ahead

· Establishment of a proper mechanism on disaster management at national, district and divisional levels.

Actions to be Taken

· Identifying and acquisition of suitable lands for the construction of houses.

· Paying compensation for partly and fully damaged houses.

· Identifying lands for setting up schools and other government institutions to be relocated.

Way Forward

Setting up of an early warning system.
Seeking local and foreign training opportunities for relevant officials on disaster management and maintaining a database.
Maintaining a monitoring programme on NGO/INGO at national level.
Setting up a proper and effective mechanism on decision making process from national level to divisional level.
Making officials aware of the importance of collecting relevant data in such disastrous situations in advance.

Post Tsunami Recovery Process

District Experience and the Challenges Ahead

Matara District

Affected Divisional Secretary Divisions

(1) Matara

(2) Weligama

(3) Devinuwara

(4) Dikwella

Affected People

· Number of affected families: 19,744

· Total number of deaths: 1,221

· Total number of persons displaced: 9,508

· Number of persons who were in welfare camps at the initial stage: 23,480

· Number of welfare camps at initial stage: 69

· Existing welfare camps: 22

· Existing number of persons in welfare camps: 3,102

Damages to Different Sectors

Sector	Nature of the Damage	Estimated Cost (Rs.Mn.)
Road	Roads belong to RDA and Provincial Council, Matara Municipal Council, Devinuwara Pradeshiya Sabha damaged.	94
Telecommunication	Telecommunication building and boundary wall, office equipment, office furniture, vehicles and outside lines damaged.	170
Electricity	High Tension Lines, Low Tension Lines, Buildings of Service Centre, Vehicles, Single phase matters and other equipment damaged.	62
Housing	2223 houses were fully damaged, 6675 houses were partly damaged.	1163
Fisheries	Fishing Crafts (Multi day boats, One day boats, FRP Boats, Local boats, Traditional boats) and Fisheries Habour damaged.	439
Agriculture	242 acres of paddy, 15 acres of vegetable and fruit lands and Thalalla Agrarian Services Centre damaged.	16
Water Supply	Water Meters, House Connections, Pipelines, and Pumps and equipment damaged.	55
Banking	Office equipment, Furniture, Stationeries and Properties of Ruhuna Development Bank, NSB, People’s Bank at Matara damaged.	114
Health	RDHS office building, vehicle, furniture and office equipment damaged.	11
Education	School Buildings, Furniture, Sanitary Facilities, Electricity, Water etc. damaged.	65
Other	Local Authorities, Co-operative Societies and other Government Institutions	304
Total		2,493

Actions Taken

· Cooked food and dry rations were distributed

· First-Aid and health facilities were restored.

· Water and sanitation, electricity and other facilities were provided.

· Progress review meetings were held daily.

· Cooperation of Political Authorities, Government Organizations, NGO’s and general public were obtained in the restoration of services.

· Estimates on damages were prepared and temporary houses for displaced people provided.

· Students and teachers of damaged schools were affiliated to other schools nearby.

· 2,670 transitional houses were provided.

· Construction of 722 houses were completed.

· Construction of 133 houses are in progress.

Confronted Problems and Issues

· Lack of funds for fulfilling the necessities.

· Poor knowledge and experience of the staff in handling disaster management.

· Scarcity of public lands nearby the affected areas.

· Scarcity of skilled labour.

· Difficulty in finding suitable buildings for resettling displaced persons.

Challenges Ahead

· Establishment of a proper mechanism on disaster management at national, district and divisional levels.

Actions to be Taken

· Identifying and acquisition of suitable lands for the construction of houses.

· Paying compensation for partly and fully damaged houses.

· Identifying lands for setting up schools and other government institutions to be relocated.

Way Forward

· Setting up of an early warning system.

· Seeking local and foreign training opportunities for relevant officials on disaster management and maintaining a database.

· Maintaining a monitoring programme on NGO/INGO at national level.

· Setting up a proper and effective mechanism on decision making process from national level to divisional level.

· Making officials aware of the importance of collecting relevant data in such disastrous situations in advance.

EXPERIENCE AND CHALLENGES AHEAD

Matara District

Introduction

Tsunami disaster on 26^th December 2004 has caused a vast damage to the coastal belt in Matara district when compared with coastal lines of other areas in the Island. Table No. 1 shows such damages caused to 4 Divisional Secretariat divisions in Matara district.

Tsunami damages

Divisional Secretariat	No of Families Affected	No of Persons Displaced			No of Deaths	No of Injured	No of Missing
Divisional Secretariat	No of Families Affected	In Camps	With Relatives	Total	No of Deaths	No of Injured	No of Missing
Matara	5493	1269	1254	2523	430	2850	102
Weligama	6589	1314	1818	3132	469	1850	28
Devinuwara	3984	233	827	1060	57	752	06
Dickwella	3678	286	2507	2793	185	1200	21
Other					80		443
Total