The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) has issued early landslide warnings for three divisional secretariat areas in the Badulla and Monaragala districts on Sunday morning, citing prevailing adverse weather conditions.
The warnings cover the Passara Divisional Secretariat Division and surrounding areas in Badulla District, and the Badalkumbura and Wellawaya Divisional Secretariat Divisions in Monaragala District. The NBRO said all mountainous areas, man-made cut slopes and roads within the affected divisional secretariats are at risk.
Residents have been urged to watch for pre-landslide signs including ground cracks, land subsidence, tilting trees and utility poles, fissures in walls and floors, and the sudden appearance or disappearance of springs or muddy water. People living in landslide-prone areas should move to safer locations immediately if such warning signs are observed or if heavy rainfall continues, the NBRO said. The Disaster Management Centre has urged the public to follow official instructions during the warning period.
The early warnings come as the Department of Meteorology has flagged heavy rainfall above 100mm for most parts of the island after 1pm Sunday, linked to a low-pressure area over the southwest Bay of Bengal that is also signalling the onset of the south-west monsoon. The Irrigation Department on Sunday morning opened the spill gates of nine major reservoirs — including Lunugamvehera, Weheragala and Rajanganaya — to manage rising catchment levels.
Wellawaya, one of the divisional secretariats now under the NBRO advisory, was also the area where Kirindi Oya floodwaters inundated homes on May 8 following Lunugamvehera releases earlier in the week.
Source: Newswire.
