Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed the Home Affairs Ministry to commence provision of compensation to those affected by the gale force winds in Divulapitiya area from today (15).
Disaster Management Centre Media spokesperson Ravi Jayaratne said that measures have been taken to hand over an advance out of the total full compensation to the residents of every affected house.
“The total amount will be provided after completion of the preparations of relevant evaluations by the district secretariat,” he said.
He said that more than 600 houses were damaged due to strong winds that blew across the Divulapitiya-Badalgama area.
It was reported that houses in Badalgama, Katukenda, Alugolla, Dicklanda and the Heeralugedera areas have been damaged by fallen trees and other debris.
Jayaratne said that more than 200 houses reported to have been fully damaged and the rest have been partly damaged.
He further assured that no deaths were reported due to the inclement weather but two persons have been hospitalised with injuries.
In the meantime, the Tri-Forces have been deployed to assist residents of Divulapitiya whose houses were damaged.
Ceylon Electricity Board Media spokesman said that additional workers have been deployed to repair the damaged power supply.
Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) spokesman Sulakshana Jayawardena said around 500 consumers have been affected by the bad weather and the power supply to the Divulapitiya and Kotadeniyawa areas were disconnected as a result. Efforts are now underway to restore power to the affected areas CEB sources said.