Combatting the Effects of Flooding in Sri Lanka

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English Al Jazeera is reporting today on the effects recent flooding has had on communities located on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka, including one story of a woman who hopes “that my husband will be able to earn some money. We really need it. Before the floods, I’d taken loans to help with our farming, but now our crops have been destroyed, I have no way of repaying them. At the moment we are only eating one meal a day”. This report comes after English.xinhua.net chronicled, “ten million yuan (1.52 million U.S. dollars) worth of emergency relief supplies provided by the Chinese government”arriving in Sri Lanka Tuesday this week. Yet, it will take time to organize and distribute foreign aid throughout the affected communities. With that said, the BBC has reported accusations made by the Sri Lankan flood victims that aid supplies have been held back. Italy has also made contributions including “inflatable boats, multi-purpose tents, safety jackets, diesel generators, water tank, water purification units, blankets and emergency food items”expected to arrive today according an article by the Daily Mirror. According to the United Nations in Sri Lanka the water level has increased by up to two metres in some places, and in conjunction with the fact that “crocodiles and snakes are a threat to anyone considering wading through the flood waters” this is not a pleasant situation for the people.

 

Mexico – Blanketed By The Weather

 

The Los Angeles Times has recently released an article entitled Mexico, Central America struggle through deadly rainy season detailing how “heavy seasonal rainfall has set off deadly mudslides and widespread flooding across Central America and Mexico’s southeast, killing more than 50 people and displacing more than half a million.”

Just as Guatemala has been stricken by landslides and floods so too has Mexico become blanketed under the torrential rain resulting in widespread insecurity. According to an article released earlier today by the Associated Press, “tens of thousands of people have abandoned their homes across southern Mexico to escape flooding from weeks of torrential rains, and forecasts are predicting even more rainfall.”

Floods are starting to be a recurring event in parts of Mexico like Tabasco, which a BBC article reminds it’s readers “was the scene of devastating floods three years ago.” Yet hope is significant when it comes to learning from the past to minimize damage the future has to offer, and with widespread reports of “the worst to come” as the BBC quoted Tabasco Governor Andres Granier as saying, hope might the driving force affected by the flooding.