President Mahinda Rajapaksa has instructed Sri Lanka’s Deputy Permanent Representative in New York, Shavendra Silva to look for any Sri Lankans affected by Hurricane Sandy which lashed several States in the United States and provide relief and assistance needed by any of them. The President has also directed him to liaise with the Ministry of External Affairs in providing such relief.

The Super storm Sandy has killed at least 117 people most of them in Haiti as it was charging through the Caribbean. It has killed at least 48 people and left millions without power across the Northeastern United States.  The storm has plunged more than 8.2 million people into darkness, more than three million of them in New York and New Jersey. It has also forced the shutdown of public transport, schools, airlines, and financial markets in the East Coast’s largest cities. In New Jersey, officials have warned the residents to be prepared to live without electricity for more than a week.  (niz)