posted December 31, 2004 12:29 AM            

just saw your message and am wondering if you have found anything out about what is going on in negombo?

i am looking for my friend christophe dubrelle who has a house by the sea in negombo. he is french but lived in amsterdam for a number of years while working for nike.

posted December 31, 2004 02:50 AM         

"hi -
just saw your message and am wondering if you have found anything out about what is going on in negombo?

i am looking for my friend christophe dubrelle who has a house by the sea in negombo. he is french but lived in amsterdam for a number of years while working for nike."

posted January 18, 2005 01:20 PM         

I was on the Negombo beach walking with my wife at about 10am on 26th of December, when first wave hit us up to waste high, we scrambled very quickly to third floor of our hotel and watched as the horrible sequence of events unfolding right in front of our very eyes. At about 1 pm when the largest wave struck negombo coastal line destroying old shacks occupied by displaced people, fortunately everyone evacuated the coastal areas after the first wave and left for higher grounds, fishermen loaded their boats on trucks and some physically carried them to safety. The first hotel we stayed in called Star Beach was under five feet of water, Boathouse restaurant suffered the same fate. Browns hotel, Camalot Hotel, Goldi Sands Hotel, Sea shell Hotel were closed due to flood damage for over 10 days. Most hotels and guest houses were still almost empty and hardly any new arrivals. We left Negombo on 16th of January back to England.

People living in the shacks returned after three days, started clearing the mess tsunami left for them, they looked stunned and grim faced, they already had very little and now they have nothing. Because they were there illigally they got no help from anyone. My wife and I started four miles of tourist coastal line from the Sea Shell Hotel and went past Golden Star Beach Hotel Handed our own money SR5000/- in SR100/- bills to whom we judged to be destitute, needy and hungry. It wasn't much but under the circumstances that the best we could do for them. To best of my knowledge no one got killed or made homless in Negembo.

Negembo was no way near badly hit, as North, East, South East and South west suffered utter devestation.

We are praying for everyone affected in Sri Lanka.

posted January 19, 2005 11:43 AM         

Only the homes of displaced poeple, living in shakes on the beach suffered damaged and some disroyed, in no time at all they were all up and running. These people got no help from any one because they were residing illlegally along the negombo beach.

My wife and I distributed of our own money SR5000/- in Sr100/- bills to some needy and hungry people.

Fortunately there were no serious damages to the negembo area.