The week’s rain in Sri Lanka’s southwest has now affected 2,865 people across 15 districts, the National Disaster Relief Services Centre said on Saturday morning — the first national impact count published since the wet spell began.
Two people have died, two have been injured and one person is missing, NewsFirst reported. The affected total covers 768 families across 90 divisional secretariat divisions. Seventy-seven people from 21 families are being housed in three safe centres.
Three rivers at minor flood level
The Department of Irrigation reports the Kalu, Gin and Nilwala rivers all holding at minor flood level:
| River | Location |
|---|---|
| Kalu Ganga | Flood risk level at Ratnapura and Magura |
| Kuda Ganga (Kalu tributary) | Minor flood level at Millakanda |
| Gin Ganga | Minor flood level at Baddegama |
| Nilwala Ganga | Minor flood level at Panadugama and Thalgahagoda |
The department has told residents of surrounding low-lying areas to remain highly vigilant. The same three basins have been under warning since midweek, when minor flood warnings were issued for the Nilwala and Gin and the Kuda Ganga warning was extended by 48 hours.
Landslide warnings extended to 11 districts
The National Building Research Organisation has extended its landslide warnings until 4.00 p.m. today, covering Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Kurunegala, Ratnapura, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya and Kandy, Hiru News reported. That is a wider footprint than Friday’s red evacuation warnings for Galle, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya, though at a lower alert level.
More rain forecast today
The Meteorology Department expects showers at times in the Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in the Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya districts today, the Daily Mirror reported. Showers or thundershowers are forecast at a few places in Uva Province and the Batticaloa and Ampara districts after 2.00 p.m. The department warned of temporarily strong localised winds and lightning.
The forecast districts overlap almost exactly with the basins already at flood level.
Update: Gin and Nilwala warnings extended a further 24 hours
The Irrigation Department has extended its flood warnings for the Gin Ganga and Nilwala River basins by another 24 hours, the Daily Mirror reported on Saturday morning, in an account matched by Hiru News.
Both outlets date the original warning to 2.00 a.m. on 24 September — meaning the two basins will have been under continuous warning for more than three days by the time this extension expires. Residents in at-risk areas and motorists using roads in the affected regions, particularly minor roads, have been told to exercise extreme caution.
Not reported
The relief centre does not name the 15 affected districts, say where the two deaths occurred or how, or identify the missing person. No figure is given for damaged or destroyed houses, and no outlet reports road closures or school closures arising from Saturday’s conditions. The 15-district impact count and the NBRO’s 11-district warning list are different measures — one records damage already done, the other risk still outstanding — and no outlet reconciles them.
Sources
- Heavy Rains Affect Over 2,800 People Across 15 Districts — NewsFirst, September 26
- Showers forecast in several areas today — Daily Mirror, September 26
- Landslide warnings for 11 districts extended — Hiru News, September 25
- Flood warnings extended for Gin and Nilwala river basins — Daily Mirror, September 26
- Irrigation Department extends flood warnings for Gin Ganga and Nilwala River basins — Hiru News, September 26
