BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Bad weather forced Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to cancel his visit to areas hit by severe flooding that killed 18 people and displaced 200,000.
The cities of Ampara and Batticaloa bore the brunt of the deluge, which left portions of a railway line under more than 3 feet of water and cut off entire towns, the BBC reported Wednesday.
Poor conditions prompted cancellation of Rajapaksa's helicopter trip from Polonnaruwa in the east to the coastal city of Batticaloa 75 miles away, officials said.
People in some of the flooded areas told the BBC they haven't seen any presence of relief agencies or government help, and that some evacuees in makeshift camps were missing meals. Local officials said nearly 200,000 people fled their homes for camps set up in schools, mosques and other public places.
"Every hour, the camp numbers are increasing," said Mohammed Hizbullah, a Sri Lankan deputy minister from Batticaloa.
One local official said at least 15 villages were being supplied by boats traveling along a network of lagoons. The country's air force has helped with evacuations and dropped food supplies to some communities isolated by floodwaters.
The southern village of Pottuvil had no clean water because its supply pipe was breached, the BBC reported.
The Sri Lankan Health Ministry and relief organizations were trying to get hygiene kits to the affected area and warn people of the health hazards associated with the floods, including a risk of the mosquito-borne dengue fever.
