Churches, temples become emergency camps in cyclone-hit Lanka

(UCAN) Churches and temples in Sri Lanka have been turned into emergency relief camps for thousands left stranded by Cyclone Ditwah, which brought heavy rains, flooding, and landslides across the island nation.

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The disaster, called the “most challenging” in the nation’s history by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has so far killed 465 people, while 366 are still missing.

“We are sheltering some 175 Buddhists, Muslims, and Christians since the day after [Nov. 29] the deadly cyclone struck,” said Father Denzil Priyankara, the parish priest of St. Francis Xavier Church, Gurugalla, in the Diocese of Ratnapura.

The parish feast scheduled for Dec. 7 has been postponed to accommodate the displaced people, Priyankara told UCA News on Dec. 3.

Two relief camps were set up at the church premises and the Buddhist temple in Gurugalla, he added.

Gurugalla, in Kegalle district, is located 60 kilometers from Colombo and is badly hit by the floods. The town has a diverse population of Sinhalese, Tamils, and Muslims, and is predominantly Buddhist.