A media briefing was convened today (02) by the Commissioner General of Essential Services, Prabath Chandrakirthi, to provide an update on the current disaster situation and outline the steps to be taken moving forward, Sri Lanka Latest News reports.
It was announced that the previously proposed amount of Rs. 10,000 allocated for cleaning houses has been increased to Rs. 25,000.
Officials further stated that this payment will be provided to the individuals residing in the affected houses, irrespective of land or property ownership.
The Commissioner General also revealed that the number of highways damaged and belonging to the Road Development Authority initially stood at 256, but this number had been reduced to 108 as of yesterday (01).
He added that while the estimated damage caused by the tsunami disaster ranged between USD 1.3 billion and USD 2 billion, the current weather disaster has resulted in an estimated loss of between USD 6 billion and USD 7 billion.
