It took them two days to arrive, but Canada’s Disaster Assistance Response Team landed in Sri Lanka’s capital Saturday, eager and ready to depart for a 200-kilometre journey to Ampara, which was severely devastated on Dec. 26.The 200-member elite military corps is scheduled to head for Ampara, located on the island’s southeast coast, on Monday, bringing with them enough supplies to fill five cargo planes.
That trip over damaged roads is expected to take 12 hours.
Unloading the DART, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Survivors in Ampara eagerly await the team’s arrival and the arrival of desperately needed medicine and water purification units that are capable of cleaning up to 200,000 litres of salty or polluted water a day.While water purification remains DART’s main focus, the team will be essential in providing medical care and in helping rebuilding efforts in a region where complete fishing villages disappeared under water, and where some people lost complete families.
More than 30,000 Sri Lankans died in the earthquake and tsunami disaster two weeks ago and 800,000 were left homeless.
DART, which was greeted at Colombo airport by Federal Health Minister Ujal Dosanjh, says its prepared to face the devastation in Ampara. Some members quietly criticized the Canadian government for delaying the team’s deployment.
“We could have been here earlier but everyone is doing as they’re told and we’re doing it in a timely manner,” said one team member upon arrival in Sri Lanka.
DART’s assignment in Sri Lanka is expected to last six weeks at a cost of $20 million.
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