Military, relief officials placed on alert for rescue operations:
More rain expected in several places:
At least six people have died and over 50,000 people affected as adverse weather continued to lash several parts of the country, relief and military officials said yesterday.
According to statistics maintained by the relief agencies and the military 53,399 people from 13,027 families in 12 districts have been affected so far.
The districts include Colombo, Kalutara, Gampaha, Nuwara-Eliya, Galle, Matara, Ratnapura, Kegalle, Jaffna, Batticaloa, Puttalam and Kurunegala.
Apart from that 720 houses have been partially damaged due to flash floods and strong winds, according to the officials.
The authorities have also sounded-off landslide warnings in Ratnapura, Matara, Kegalle, Kandy, Kalutara, Hambantota, Gampaha, Galle and Colombo.
They said that the water levels in several rivers were also rising and nearing flood levels including the Attnagalle Oya, Nilwala Ganga, Kalu Ganga while minor floods were reported from Kalawellawa, Baddegama, Thalgahagoda and Panadugama.
The military was called into Matara where there was a risk of a serious breach of the stone embankment built under the ‘Nilwala’ in the Matara Atthudawa area to prevent floods in the city, the officials said.
Therefore, 100 soldiers from the 61st Brigade of the Sri Lanka army were deployed along with volunteers to secure the embankment, they said.
More than 2,500 families that are currently displaced in the Matara district in Malimbada, Akuressa, Kamburupitiya, Thihagoda, Atthuduwa, Matara Fort and Gal Bamma are being provided immediate assistance including evacuation wherever necessary by the Tri Forces, they said.
The Sri Lanka Army has established four food processing centres at Malimbada, Akuressa, Thihagoda and Matara Fort to provide food and water to the displaced people, which has been the main challenge in the disaster relief and Army WMZ armoured vehicles, Unicorn APCs and heavy vehicles are being used to distribute food and water to people in flooded areas.
The Sri Lanka Army medical teams have been prepared to provide support to every regional secretariat in the Galle, Matara and Kalutara districts and two army battalions of over 500 soldiers have been assigned to Matara and the Galle districts, the officials said.
The 58 Division and Gemunu Watch have been prepared for disaster relief operations in the Kalutara district and 3 WMZ vehicles and 6 motor boats belonging to the Sri Lanka Army have been prepared for deployment when necessary.
Also arrangements have been made to call in diving teams of the Sri Lanka Army Special Forces and Commandos for the operations at a short notice.
Residents along other rivers in the Southern province including the rivers such as Kalu, Nilwala and Ging have been cautioned to be aware of flash floods or similar situations.
Under the leadership of the 61st Brigade of the Sri Lanka Army, disaster relief operations will be launched in conjunction with the Regional Secretariat Divisions of the Southern Province and other Government agencies, and if necessary, the soldiers of the 58th Brigade have also been prepared for deployment, according to the officials.
Also, naval troops and boats as well as air force troops have been prepared for deployment if necessary.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Presidential Adviser on National Security, Sagala Rathnayaka, the State Minister of Defence Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon, Secretary to the President Saman Ekanayake, Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne along with the Chief of the Defence Staff General Shavendra Silva regularly render instructions to the Army Commanders and the heads of the local Government bodies. These relief planning activities are ongoing under their full supervision.
Meanwhile officials of the Department of Meteorology forecast more rains in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-Western Provinces and in the Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts in the next few days.
Showers or thundershowers will also occur at several places in the Eastern, Uva and North-Central Provinces and in the Matale and Mullaitivu districts during the evening or night, they said. The public have been advised to take precautions to minimise damage that could be caused by lightning during thunder storms, the officials said.
