Tsunami Relief now reaching Trincomalee district

Scenes of devastation at Gopalapuram north of Trincomalee six days after the tsunami struck.

Left: Causeway destroyed leading to Kuchaveli. Right: Flood waters rose to the ceilings and twisted metal fans blades like they were paper.

Mari Amman Kovil, Gopalapuram, was severely damaged by the tsunami.

Families of tsunami survivors camping in the open, Gopalapuram

Living Heritage Disaster Relief Director Patrick Harrigan presents Rs. 50,000 (ca. US$500) to Rajendra Swamigal of Sundara Velayudha Swami Kovil for immediate distribution to families affected by the disaster. Gopalapuram, Trincomalee District, 1 January 2005

Kataragama Devotees Trust local organiser Panchavaranam Swami Amma (center) presents a token bottle of drinking water with Rs. 50,000 (ca. US$500) to P. Balachandran, Secretary of Veeracholai Vinayagar Kovil, Kuchaveli, Trincomalee District for immediate distribution to local families affected by the disaster. Living Heritage Disaster Relief Director Patrick Harrigan (left) and community survivors were also present at Kuchaveli on 2 January 2005.

Living Heritage Disaster Relief Director Patrick Harrigan sent this report from Trincomalee on Sri Lanka’s east coast on 1 January 2005.

Relief efforts raised on behalf of communities on the east coast of Sri Lanka devastated by the tsunami are beginning to reach the needy in Trincomalee District as of Saturday 1 January.

A small advance team for disaster relief organized through the Living Heritage Trust of Sri Lanka reached Trincomalee town on the evening of 31 December. The team's mission is to visit as many coastal villages as possible, establish contact with local temples and communities leaders, survey and record the extent of local damage, and determine exact local needs in terms of clothing, medicine, and dry rations, as well as long term recovery and reconstruction efforts.

The Living Heritage advance team is accompanied by correspondent Philip Reeves of American National Public Radio. Reeves has begun filing daily reports for NPR’s 'Morning Edition' including interviews with Living Heritage Disaster Relief Director Patrick Harrigan.

In Trincomalee town the worst destruction has been mainly among the fishing community who live along the beaches, where hundreds have lost their homes and means of livelihood or even their lives in many cases. NPR’s Morning Edition programming will air the interviews beginning Saturday 1 January.

On its first day in the field, the Living Heritage mission visited Gopalapuram, a coastal village just north of Nilaveli. According to Rajendra Swamigal of Murugan Alayam, Gopalapuram, two people died and over 200 people have been left homeless in Gopalapuram alone. The devastation extends several hundred meters inland from the shore. The Mari Amman Kovil directly on the beach, where the Kataragama Pada Yatra foot pilgrims from Jaffna would stay and accept food and hospitality of local fishing folk especially, has been nearly destroyed. An elderly devotee living next to the Kovil, who was long time veteran of the Kataragama Pada Yatra, perished in the tidal wave together with his wife.

Living Heritage Disaster Relief Director Patrick Harrigan presented Rajendra Swamigal of Sundara Velayudha Swami Kovil, Gopalapuram, with Rs. 50,000 (ca. US$500) in cash for immediate distribution to needy families left homeless by the disaster. These cash grants are intended to help specific communities to fill the gap during the first critical days and weeks until larger scale relief begins to arrive.

The Swamigal and devotees have agreed to compile a detailed list of their community's specific needs. Living Heritage Trust and Kataragama Devotees Trust volunteers will then assemble this information into a database that will eventually cover affected villages all the way south as far as Ampara district. This database will in turn be shared with national and international relief organizations in order to introduce more systematic coordination among relief agencies active on the East Coast.

Living Heritage volunteers appeal to people everywhere to contribute material support to onging disaster relief efforts in Sri Lanka. Immediate donations of dry goods and clothing are needed in Colombo, as well as financial donations are urgently needed to help families to get back on their feet.

HOW TO CONTRIBUTE TO LIVING HERITAGE DISASTER RELIEF

If you wish to contribute to relief efforts that will go directly to Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and Ampara districts of Sri Lanka, contact Living Heritage Disaster Relief Director Patrick Harrigan at editor@kataragama.org or phone no. +94-11-267-5436 or cellular no. +94776697948.

Relief items (clothing and dry rations, medicines, etc.) may be delivered (locally) to:

Financial donations may be sent in any one of these ways:

Photos: Tsunami Relief team surveys Batticaloa district
Living Heritage Trust Tsunami Disaster Relief report from Galle