The Department of Meteorology has issued a Red-level advisory for strong winds and rough seas covering two separate stretches of Sri Lanka’s coastal waters, telling fishing and naval communities to stay out of them.
The advisory was issued on Saturday (8) and runs until 8.30 a.m. on Sunday (9).
It covers the sea areas from Chilaw to Mannar via Kalpitiya, and from Matara to Pottuvil via Hambantota. Both will be very rough at times, with strong gusty winds reaching 60-70 kmph, the department said. Naval and fishing communities have been advised not to venture into those waters until further notice.
The rest of the coast a tier lower
The remaining coastal waters sit under the next band down. The sea from Batticaloa to Mannar via Trincomalee and Kankesanturai, and from Chilaw to Matara via Colombo and Galle, will be rough at times with winds strengthening to 50-60 kmph.
Between the two bands, effectively the entire coastline is now under some form of marine warning. Fishermen and naval personnel working in the lower-tier areas were urged to stay vigilant and to follow subsequent forecasts issued by the department.
The warning has moved northwest
The Red band has shifted since midweek. The advisory issued on Thursday covered only the southeastern stretch from Matara to Pottuvil via Hambantota. Saturday’s bulletin keeps that zone in the highest band and adds the northwestern stretch from Chilaw up to Mannar.
That extension puts Kalpitiya and Puttalam-area waters back under a no-go warning barely three days after the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources cleared fishing from Puttalam to Hambantota, having judged conditions safe enough to resume on Wednesday.
The spell has already been costly. Five fishermen died in weather-related incidents at sea in the days before the earlier ban was widened.
On land, the department’s forecast for Saturday puts fairly heavy falls above 75 mm over Sabaragamuwa province and the Kandy and Nuwara Eliya districts, with strong winds across five provinces.
Sources: Ada Derana.
