Heavy rainfall has caused widespread flooding in the Galewela Divisional Secretariat area of Matale District, displacing numerous families across 14 Grama Niladhari (GN) divisions, Ada Derana reported on Monday.
The Galewela inundations come as the Bay of Bengal low-pressure system continues to draw moisture across the island, prompting the Meteorology Department to keep a Level 1 lightning red alert in place for 16 districts and the National Building Research Organisation to maintain landslide warnings for five Matale, Badulla, Monaragala, Nuwara Eliya and Kandy divisions.
The Disaster Management Centre had not released a consolidated displacement figure for Galewela at the time of publication, and Ada Derana did not name the affected GN divisions individually.
Galewela sits in the central catchment fed by the same upper-watershed system that has prompted spill gates to be opened at 18 major and medium reservoirs over the past 48 hours, including Bowatenna and Moragahakanda downstream. Heavy rain in the Mahaweli catchment has compounded run-off into the Amban Ganga sub-basin, which Galewela drains.
Source: Ada Derana.
