BOSTON – Oxfam has sent 60 1,000-liter water tanks to Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, one of the worst-affected areas, where clean water is urgently needed after floodwaters contaminated local wells. The agency is also preparing 25,000 food packs to help feed families who have lost everything in the flooding, which followed a powerful earthquake.

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“This is a massive humanitarian disaster, and communications are so bad we still don’t know the full scale of it,” said Phil Esmonde, Head of Oxfam in Sri Lanka. “Unless we get aid quickly to the people, many more could die.”

Oxfam flood-response experts are already on their way to the worst-affected regions and more assistance is under way.

“Food, water and shelter are all urgently needed by the people affected,” Esmonde said. “We have already started getting aid to the people, but much more will be needed. Without a rapid response, those who survived the flooding could still fall victim to disease or dehydration. The international community must quickly provide the funds needed for aid agencies to help save lives.”

Shelter is also a major issue, since thousands of houses have been destroyed. In northern Sri Lanka, Oxfam has already distributed food, sleeping mats, and plastic sheeting for temporary shelters to thousands of families.

The aid effort is hampered by the impact of the floodwaters. The Oxfam headquarters in Trincomalee has been flooded, for example, destroying communications, and key relief items like water tanks have been swept away with the retreating waters. Telephone lines are either down or choked with calls.

Oxfam is accepting donations to its Asian Earthquake Fund: