An 8-year old Tamil boy was killed in Kilinochchi on Thursday when the wall of his temporary house collapsed due to flood water accumulation.

Heavy rains in recent times have led to flood water accumulation in the area, causing the collapse of a temporary house wall on top of the child. The child was initially rescued with the help of neighbours and taken to Kilinochchi hospital; however, the boy in question passed away despite receiving hospital treatment. The body of the deceased child has been placed at Kilinochchi Hospital and will be handed over to relatives.

The incident was reported on Thursday morning, with Sri Lankan police reportedly investigating the incident.

Locals argue that although various political parties have been informed of the floodwater stagnation issue in the area, no solution has been reached. They say that up to 40 families are affected by this issue every year. The residents of the area have expressed their sorrow that a child’s life has been lost despite repeated calls for the provision of a drainage facility.

Residents stated that they are unable to move into permanent housing due to non-payment of the housing project loan scheme provided by Sajith Premadasa, a former presidential candidate and leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB). They have demanded that action be taken to provide the money to build permanent houses in the region.

Extreme weather events are increasingly recurrent in the North-East. Residents say that Tamil communities are ill-equipped and neglected by the Sri Lankan state. The island has been reported among the countries most affected by the climate crisis in recent years.

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