In the eastern Sri Lankan Ampara District alone, more than 5,000
people died. A holiday train, the "Queen of the Sea", was struck by
the tsunami near the village of Telwatta as it traveled between
Colombo and Galle carrying at least 1,700 passengers, killing all
but a handful on board. About 1,000 more dead were counted in
Mullaitivu and Vadamaradchi East. At Trincomalee in the northeast,
where the tsunami reached more than 2 km (1.25 mi) inland, 800 were
reported dead. About 69 dead were counted at Batticaloa in the
east. The naval base at Trincomalee was reported to be
submerged.
The agricultural sector was affected seriously. 259 km² of paddy
land was destroyed in the northern, eastern, southern and western
coastal belts. In addition, the extensive salinization of paddy
lands rendered them unsuitable for paddy cultivation. Rubbish was
also deposited on paddy lands. A large number of agricultural
vehicles and equipment were destroyed and canals and drains were
blocked. Underground sources of water were salinated.
Across the island, collections were taken for those who had lost
everything. Vans with PA systems drove around calling on people to
give whatever they could - money, clothes, bottles of water and
bags of rice and lentils.
Apart from homes, many hotels, as well as shops, were reported
to have been damaged. Hotels along the south coast were full of
both foreign tourists and Sri Lankans making use of the long
Christmas weekend. Twenty thousand soldiers were deployed in
government-controlled areas to assist in relief operations and
maintain law and order after sporadic looting. Curfews had been
imposed in some areas to curb looting. Chinese light T-72A
anti-personnel mines, left after the two-decade civil war, were
feared to have been washed up and spread by the surge of water. The
Norwegian Peoples' Aid Organization assembled a team of mine
sweepers to assess the situation.
