National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka

On the morning of 26th December 2004 (Sunday) the coastal belt of Sri Lanka was hit by massive tidal waves, displacing over 1.5 Million people. The lightning flooding that occurred left little time for people to run to high ground, causing instant death. At the time of writing the death toll stands at 6,000. It is expected to rise, with thousands of people, including entire communities still missing. Among the dead are many children.

Rescue efforts in the North and East are hampered with un-cleared landmines floating in the water. In the Northern Province over 1,500 bodies have been recovered, while in the Southern District of Hambanthota, over 1,000 bodies have been recovered so far. Many of these are devotees who were on a pilgrimage to Kataragama in the South. Access to some of the worst hit areas is limited, with roads and the railroads inundated with water or made impassable with fallen debris.

The destruction is indescribable; there is deep sorrow, shock and despair and fear among the people. Even as we write this, there is a warning issued that another massive tidal wave is due to hit the already devastated coast of Sri Lanka within another hour.

The Sri Lankan government has declared a state of National Emergency and Disaster and has made appeals to the international community for urgent aid and assistance. There is no national disaster preparedness plan to deal with this situation.

Towns and villages on Sri Lanka's coastal belt - from Jaffna in the North, the entire Eastern coast, the Southern coast and more than 3/4th of the Western coast, including some parts of Colombo District are badly affected. Some of the worst hit areas are the South, where the town of Galle was totally submerged, lashed by waves over 20 feet high, and the Eastern coast, where the Districts of Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Amparai and Mulaitivu are severely affected.

The Red Cross has issued warnings of a huge outbreak of diarrhea and malaria, since water (including the supply to the city of Colombo) is contaminated.