The Department of Meteorology has issued a Red warning for strong winds and rough seas in the sea areas extending from Galle to Pottuvil via Hambantota.
Those waters are expected to be very rough at times, with very strong gusty winds reaching 60-70 kmph, the department said. Naval and fishing communities have been advised to avoid venturing into the affected sea areas until further notice.
The warning was issued on Sunday afternoon (2) and is valid until 8.00 p.m. on Monday (3), according to Aruna, which reported that wind speeds in those areas could climb into the 60-70 kmph band from time to time through Monday.
Sea areas from Puttalam to Galle via Colombo are also expected to turn rough, with strong gusty winds of 50-60 kmph. Hiru News, reporting that stretch, said fishermen had likewise been told not to put to sea there until further notice.
The department asked naval and fishing communities operating in all affected areas to remain vigilant and to follow subsequent weather updates and advisories.
An escalation through the day
Red is the highest tier in the department’s colour-coded alert scale, and Sunday’s bulletin marks a sharp step up from the warnings issued earlier in the day.
At around 2.00 p.m., the department had issued an Amber advisory for strong winds of about 40-50 kmph over the coastal areas off the North-Central, North-Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and Southern provinces and the Trincomalee district, in effect until 11.30 a.m. on Monday. Sunday’s morning bulletin had been a routine forecast of 50 mm showers and 40-50 kmph land winds, issued after Saturday’s Amber heavy-rain advisory lapsed at 6.00 a.m.
The evening Red warning moves the alert offshore and to the island’s southern and eastern seaboard — a different stretch from the western coast that has borne the brunt of the weekend’s weather.
Deadly week at sea
The warning follows a costly few days for fishing communities. The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources said on Sunday that the number of fishermen killed after putting to sea in bad weather had risen to five, with one man still missing off Mannar.
Small and one-day boats have been barred from the Jaffna-to-Beruwala stretch since Saturday, and a Navy and Air Force search operation off Negombo has run through the weekend.
