The Federal Foreign Office has made available 250,000 euro to aid people affected by the severe flooding in Sri Lanka.

According to United Nations figures, more than a million people have been affected by the floods and more than 360,000 of them have had to be accommodated in temporary camps. While those affected have been increasingly able to return to their home villages, the situation remains strained. Many homes were damaged or destroyed by the floodwaters; compounding the suffering, food supplies were swept away and numerous sources of drinking water have become contaminated.

The Federal Foreign Office is using the available funds to support the aid projects of two German NGOs, Malteser International and the Workers’ Samaritan Federation Germany. These projects meet the desperate needs of about 50,000 people in the district of Batticaloa, which has been particularly affected by the flooding. Aid measures range from emergency provision of food and water to distribution of household items such as cooking utensils, blankets and tarps.