COLOMBO: Disaster-hit Sri Lanka has unveiled a major compensation package to rebuild homes damaged by a deadly cyclone, even as the island prepared for further landslides and flooding. The government has confirmed 607 deaths, with another 214 people missing and feared dead, in what President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has called the country's most challenging natural disaster. Survivors will be offered up to 10 million rupees ($33,000) to buy land in a safer location and build a new house, the finance ministry said in a statement. The government is also offering one million rupees as compensation for each person killed or permanently disabled.
The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said more than 71,000 homes were damaged, including nearly 5,000 that were completely destroyed by last week's floods and landslides. Around 150,000 people remain in state-run shelters, down from a peak of 225,000. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it was considering Sri Lanka's request for an additional $200 million, on top of the $347 million tranche the country was already due to receive this month. — AFP
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