Cyclone catastrophe in Sri Lanka awakens volunteer spirit

BBC:

Sri Lankan actor and musician GK Reginold rides a motorised fishing boat through Colombo’s suburbs, hoping to bring food and water to those in desperate need.

Some of the families, Mr Reginold says, have not received aid for days, isolated by the South Asian island nation’s worst weather disaster in recent years.

Cyclone Ditwah lashed the country last week, bringing catastrophic floods and landslides that killed more than 460people, left hundreds missing and damaged some 30,000 homes.

But the deluge has also inspired volunteerism among its people, as they face what their president has described as the “most challenging natural disaster” in its history.

“The main reason why I wanted to do this, is to at least help them to have one meal,” Mr Reginold tells the BBC. “And I was so happy that I was able to do that.”

More than one million people have been affected by the disaster and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has declared a state of emergency.

Sri Lanka’s military has deployed helicopters for rescue operations, while humanitarian aid is flowing in from foreign governments and non-governmental organisations.

But it will be a long journey to recovery for Sri Lanka, which has seen its fair share of turmoil in recent years.