The Department of Meteorology has escalated its advisory to a Red Alert — the highest warning level — for heavy rain on Thursday evening, as 37 reservoirs nationwide are now overflowing and the Irrigation Department warns of fresh flooding risks on the Attanagalu Oya and Ma Oya river systems.
Very heavy showers above 150 mm are likely in places across Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-Western provinces and in Kandy, Nuwara-Eliya, Galle and Matara districts, the Met Department said in its latest analysis. Heavy showers above 100 mm are likely in some areas of the Northern Province. The low-pressure area lying to the northeast of Sri Lanka is expected to move away over the next 48 hours, but rainfall, strong winds and lightning are set to persist.
Director of the Hydrology Division of the Irrigation Department, L.S. Sooriyabandara, said 19 major reservoirs and 18 medium-sized reservoirs across the country are currently spilling as inflows continue to exceed capacity. The figure marks a sharp escalation from the 33 reservoirs reported overflowing the previous day.
The Irrigation Department has issued a fresh warning urging residents on both banks of the Attanagalu Oya and Ma Oya to remain vigilant as water levels continue to rise. Sooriyabandara said that if heavy rainfall continues in the two river basins overnight, minor flooding of surrounding areas is possible. The Red Alert comes a day after the Met Department’s red warning for the Kalu, Gin and Nilwala river basins flagged flood risks in Galle, Matara and Colombo.
Landslide early warnings issued by the National Building Research Organisation for 11 districts remain in effect. The afternoon Disaster Management Centre update earlier on Thursday placed the impact figure at 3,475 people from 1,113 families across seven districts, with 1,310 people in eight temporary safety shelters and the Welipenna interchange on the Southern Expressway temporarily closed to traffic.
