Floods and landslides caused by torrential rains with serious lightning and winds in Sri Lanka have left nine people dead, 23 missing the national Disaster Management Center (DMC) said its latest report issued at 6 pm local time.
The DMC report said 23,741 people have been displaced and sheltered in 163 safe places while 66,340 people belonging to17,569 families have been affected by the adverse weather.
The authorities said a complete array of relief measures have been implemented targeting the affected people island wide.
The government has deployed the Army and Navy to rescue the flood stranded and provide relief to the affected people as the water levels in several tributaries of major rivers are still rising although water levels of the major rivers are receding.
Water levels of the Attanagalu Oya and Uruwal Oya are on the rise affecting areas in Gampaha, Attanagalla, and Wattala. Divulapitiya, Dompe, Minuwangoda, Biyagama, Mirigama and Kelaniya areas have severely been affected by the floods the state run ITN reported.
Several low lying areas in Ranbima, Welihinda, and Yakadagalla were submerged as Maa Oya overflowed. Roads in the areas were also inundated and vehicular transportation was obstructed.
The railway service from in between Chilaw and Thummodera has been curtailed due to the overflow of Hamilton Canal with the incessant rains.
Transportation in Naattandiya, Kuliyapitiya and Dankotuwa has been handicapped. Many parts of the Kegalle District were also affected by the incessant rainy condition. Around 920 families were affected and two people were reportedly killed by the natural hazard in the district.
Meanwhile, Baddegama, Naagoda, Thelikada, Agaliya and several other areas in the Galle district affected by flooding. Seven teams have been dispatched to carry out relief activities in the Galle district.
Several low lying areas on the Kelani river basin was also submerged with overflowing of the river. The access road to the Kaduwela town was also inundated and transportation was restricted.
