January 3, 2005 OTTAWA -- The Minister of National Defence, Bill Graham, announced today that the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) will be deployed to the Ampara region of Sri Lanka. The region, one of the most significantly impacted by the Tsunami, is located on the east coast of Sri Lanka approximately 300 kilometers from Colombo. "Following yesterday's preliminary report from the Interdepartmental Reconnaissance Team, we have now received confirmation of the site suitability work conducted in the past 24 hours," said Minister Graham. "I spoke with the Prime Minister and recommended that the DART be deployed to the vicinity of Ampara, Sri Lanka." The DART will be deployed commencing Thursday, January 6th , 2005 and will begin partial operations immediately upon arrival in Ampara and will be in full operation as soon as possible. The DART will provide the following types of assistance services to residents of the area: primary medical care; production of safe drinking water; a limited specialist engineer capability; and a command and control structure that allows for effective communications between the DART, the host nation, and the other agencies involved in the relief effort, including international organizations, non-governmental organizations and UN aid agencies. Ampara, a district of approximately 600,000 people, was one of the worst affected of all districts by the December 26 tsunami and suffered an estimated 10,400 deaths. An estimated total of 105,560 people have been forced to seek temporary shelters. -30- For further information: (613) 996-2353/54; After hours: (613) 792-2973 World Wide Web: http://www.forces.gc.ca
