Thin Roof

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Tuesday announced it has completed 3,000 transitional shelters for Sri Lanka's tsunami survivors.





The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Tuesday announced it has completed 3,000 transitional shelters for Sri Lanka's tsunami survivors. Some 140 families on the east coast, one of the worst hit by the December 26 giant waves, moved into their new homes on Tuesday to bring the number of temporary shelters the organisation has completed to 3,000, the IOM said.

"Moving out of tents and emergency shelters and into durable and comfortable transitional housing will help tsunami survivors begin to recover emotionally," IOM's chief of mission in Sri Lanka, Mary Sheehan, said in a statement.

The IOM has constructed transitional homes in six districts with funding from Japan, Greece, China and the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Organisation (ECHO), IOM spokeswoman Gina Wilkinson said.

She said the transitional housing was designed to last at least two years while permanent housing was finalised for the 86,000 families who lost their homes to the waves.

"A restricted suppl