The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said in an evening update on Saturday that the number of people affected by the prevailing adverse weather has crossed 5,000, with 5,242 individuals from 1,574 families now impacted across 14 districts. Two disaster-related fatalities have been reported, and 162 people are being accommodated at two safety centres.
A total of 192 houses have been partially damaged, with one house in the Ratnapura District completely destroyed. An earlier DMC bulletin on Saturday had recorded 141 houses partially damaged, with Kalutara District accounting for the highest share at 78, followed by Batticaloa (25), Ratnapura (12), Galle (6), Colombo (5), Monaragala (4), Jaffna (4), Gampaha (3), Hambantota (2) and Anuradhapura (2).
The DMC said the affected population spans 65 Divisional Secretariat divisions across 14 districts, up from 1,263 families in 48 DSDs reported earlier in the day. The agency continues to monitor the ongoing disaster situation.
In a separate update, the Department of Irrigation said river water levels that had risen earlier in the week are now gradually receding as rainfall eases. Director of Irrigation (Hydrology and Disaster Management) Engineer L.S. Sooriyabandara said data from the Millakanda River Gauging Station shows the Kalu River still in a minor flood situation.
The Attanagalu Oya is also receding, but residents in downstream areas — including Gampaha, Katana and Wattala — were urged to remain alert as minor flooding conditions continue. Rainfall is still being recorded in the Hanwella area along the Kelani River, with forecasts indicating further showers.
As of Friday evening, 22 of the country’s 73 major reservoirs and 19 medium-scale tanks were spilling, the Irrigation Department said. The public will be informed before any spill gates are opened.
The damage tally extends a string of weather-related incidents affecting the country since the low-pressure system intensified earlier this month, prompting NBRO landslide warnings across six districts and red flood warnings on the Kalu and Gin rivers.
In a forward-looking advisory issued at 2 p.m. on Saturday, the Department of Meteorology said the low-pressure area northeast of Sri Lanka still persists and continues to be monitored. The Department forecast showers or thundershowers and cloudy skies for the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western and Northern provinces and in Galle and Matara districts on May 17, with fairly heavy showers of about 75 mm likely at some places. Several spells of showers were forecast for Anuradhapura district, while Uva and Eastern provinces were expected to see scattered thundershowers after 1 p.m. The public was urged to take precautions against temporary localised strong winds and lightning.
