It is expected that the worst is yet to come with January and February usually being the hottest months in Australia. While all the States in Australia are affected by wildfires, the worst hit is New South Wales where over two thousand homes had been ravaged. Early December last year, due to smoke the quality of air in Sydney was rated as 11 times the hazardous level.
President Rajapaksa sympathized deeply with the families who have lost their loved ones to the fires. Having suffered through our own natural disasters such as the 2004 tsunami, floods and so on, President Rajapaksa said that Sri Lankan people fully understand the horror Australian citizens are suffering at this moment.
As world renowned Ceylon Tea is a favorite and comforting beverage to Australian citizens, President Rajapaksa hopes that the tea that Sri Lanka is donating would help raise the spirits of Australians in these trying times.