Adverse weather claims four lives; more than 7,000 people affected
August 2, 2022 02:17 pm
Four lives have been claimed by the adverse weather conditions reported in parts of the countries over the past few days.
A 39-year-old died after an earth mound collapsed onto two houses in Taplow area in Norton Bridge last morning. The body of the deceased was recovered in a joint operation carried out by the police and the army.
According to the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), Kandy, Nuwara-Eliya, Galle and Ratnapura districts are the hardest hit.
The DMC’s statistics revealed that at least 7,649 people belonging to 1,766 families have been affected by the prevailing heavy rains and gusty winds.
More than 3,000 people of 634 families have been evacuated to safe locations. Meanwhile, 25 houses sustained partial damages.
Speaking on the prevailing inclement weather, Director of Irrigation (Hydrology) Eng. S.P.C. Sugeeshwara said that the flood situation is expected to increase in high-lying areas of Nilwala and Kalu river basins if the prevailing rainfall continues.
However, flood risk in Kelani River basin is not likely to enhance, and the flood situation in high-lying areas of Mahaweli river basin has subsided considerably, he added.
He also noted that the water levels of Maussakele, Castlereigh, Upper Kotmale and Victoria reservoirs have increased substantially.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Navy says it has kept 48 relief teams standby as of this morning to provide relief to the people who are likely to be afflicted by flash floods, with possible rise of the water levels of rivers.
The navy also deployed 02 flood relief teams in the New Town of Ratnapura and rushed another team to Muwagama in Ratnapura on last evening.
In the meantime, the Sri Lanka Army has rescued a total of about 120 civilians trapped due to a landslide that occurred along the road patch between Ranwanthenna-Makandura in the general area of Thawalamthenna near Kotmale New Town.
