A low-pressure area lying to the northeast of Sri Lanka continues to drive heavy rainfall across the island, the Department of Meteorology said on Thursday, with the National Building Research Organisation issuing Level 2 landslide warnings for 11 districts as the system gradually weakens.
The Met Department said the low-pressure system is expected to move away from Sri Lanka and weaken over the next 36 to 48 hours, but showery conditions and strong winds will persist for the next two days. An afternoon update from the department on Thursday confirmed the system would continue to drift away within the 48-hour window. Significant rainfall in upper catchment areas had kept the Kalu, Nilwala and Gin rivers, as well as the Attanagalu Oya, at high levels as of Wednesday evening.
One death was reported overnight from Batticaloa due to the prevailing adverse weather. The Disaster Management Centre’s morning May 14 update sharply escalated the impact figures: 3,475 people from 1,113 families across seven districts have now been severely affected, with 1,310 people from 489 families placed in eight temporary safety shelters. The DMC said 88 houses and one business had suffered partial damage. Puttalam recorded 256.2 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours to 8:30 am Thursday, the highest in the country, while the Welipenna interchange on the Southern Expressway was temporarily closed due to flooding.
The NBRO Level 2 alert puts 11 districts on heightened landslide watch and follows the Met Department’s amber-rain advisory issued on May 13, which forecast over 200 mm of rainfall in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Galle and Matara. The Irrigation Department had reported 33 reservoirs spilling as continuous heavy rains pushed inflows past capacity.
A separate red warning issued by the Met Department on May 13 had flagged the Kalu, Gin and Nilwala river basins for potential flooding in Galle, Matara and Colombo. Authorities have urged residents in low-lying and slope-prone areas to remain vigilant as catchment runoff and saturated ground extend the disaster window.
