The Department of Meteorology has issued an advisory warning of thundershowers accompanied by severe lightning in parts of the Monaragala, Ampara and Batticaloa districts, with temporary localised strong winds likely during the storms.
The advisory went out on Wednesday around midday, the Daily Mirror reported. Hiru News, carrying the same departmental notice, adds the timing the English filing omits: the heightened risk is for the evening and night, not the daylight hours.
The department asked the public to take steps to minimise damage and injury from lightning.
What the department advises
- Seek shelter indoors, and do not stand under trees.
- Stay away from open ground — paddy fields, tea plantations and water bodies are named specifically.
- Do not use wired telephones, or electrical appliances connected to power outlets, during a thunderstorm.
- Avoid open vehicles, including bicycles, tractors and boats.
- Watch for fallen trees and downed power lines, and contact local disaster management authorities for emergency assistance.
Context
Lightning is a routine killer in Sri Lanka’s inter-monsoon months rather than a rare hazard: this desk covered two women killed by a single strike in Anuradhapura earlier this month. The three districts named sit on the island’s eastern and southeastern flank, which has been under repeated adverse-weather advisories through late October.
Not reported
The advisory does not name the divisional secretariat areas within the three districts, give an expected rainfall figure, or state a validity period after which it lapses.
Sources: Daily Mirror, Hiru News.