The number of people affected by El Niño-linked dry weather has risen to 84,546, the Disaster Management Centre says, as market traders warn vegetable prices are likely to climb in the coming days.
The DMC put the number of affected families at 24,144 as of Thursday, the Daily Mirror reported.
The Daily Mirror described the dry spell as affecting the Northern, Eastern, North Central, Southern and North Western provinces. That does not match the DMC’s own district list, which covers Monaragala, Ampara, Badulla, Batticaloa, Polonnaruwa, Ratnapura and Hambantota — spanning Uva, Eastern, North Central, Southern and Sabaragamuwa. Monaragala and Badulla are in Uva and Ratnapura in Sabaragamuwa, neither of which appears in the Daily Mirror’s list, while the Northern and North Western provinces contain none of the seven affected districts. NewsFirst, reporting the same DMC release, gave the seven districts and put the total at 84,545.
More people, fewer families
The two figures moved in opposite directions. The headcount rose from 81,868 recorded on Tuesday, but the family count fell from 25,628 over the same period — a drop of nearly 1,500 households even as roughly 2,700 more people were added.
That pattern is unusual for a disaster tally, which normally moves in step. The Daily Mirror did not explain it, and the DMC has not published a reconciliation. One possible reading is a re-survey that corrected household records rather than a genuine improvement, but neither the centre nor the report says so.
The family figure of 25,628 had been static for at least a week: it was the same in the DMC’s August 21 count of 81,765 people and in the August 24 update, which gave 81,865 people from the same 25,628 families. Thursday’s release is the first movement in that denominator this month.
What it means at the market
Former President of the Manning Market Traders Association S. M. Upasena told the Daily Mirror that prices are somewhat stable now but could soar in the coming days. “The dry spell had resulted in reduction of water available for cultivation of vegetables. This could result in soaring of prices,” he said.
Current Manning Market prices are beans at Rs. 300 a kilo, cabbage at Rs. 150, carrots at Rs. 200, leeks at Rs. 150 and capsicum at Rs. 400. Upasena said all of these could rise.
Vegetable supply has been under strain since July, when shortages tied to the dry spell hit Dambulla, the main upcountry collection point.
