A landslide has reactivated in the Udakalagama area of the Gallella Grama Niladhari Division, within the Ratnapura Divisional Secretariat, amid the prevailing adverse weather conditions, the Ratnapura District Disaster Management Coordinating Unit said.
Twelve families have been evacuated from the area as a precautionary measure.
Signs of the landslide reactivating appeared at around 6:30am on Friday (May 22), and families residing adjacent to the location were temporarily moved to safer ground.
The site was first identified as a landslide-prone location in 2025. Following an on-site inspection by geologists from the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO), it was categorised as a high-risk landslide zone.
The reactivation comes as NBRO Red Level 3 (evacuate) warnings remain in force for the Eheliyagoda, Kuruwita, Ayagama and Ratnapura Divisional Secretariat areas in the Ratnapura district, alongside Deraniyagala, Ruwanwella and Dehiowita in Kegalle. The warnings were issued during the first monsoon fatality of the season on Friday, when the Disaster Management Centre confirmed a 64-year-old man had been swept away by floodwaters in Divulapitiya.
The southwest monsoon has now established over Sri Lanka with 200mm-plus rainfall recorded in upper catchments across multiple days this week.
