Floods in Sri Lanka

Gagani Weerakoon in the Daily Nation (Sri Lanka): The unprecedented heavy rains that have continued for a month as of today affected the day-to-day activities of the people immensely while leaving the likes of farmers, labourers, masons, fishermen and others employed in outdoors unemployed since November 11.

These unprecedented rains have not only affected the Colombo residents with flash floods but thousands of others around the country as well with 25 major reservoirs started to spill over perhaps for the first time in the recent past.

The torrential rains not only sabotaged the West Indies vs Sri Lanka cricket tournament but it was also predicted that it will delay the planned opening of expressway linking Colombo with the south next year as heavy rain has hampered construction work on low-lying sections. It was said that the opening of the first phase of the highway by next April as originally planned would have to put for July subsequently.

Greater part of the expressway goes through marshlands, which get waterlogged during periods of heavy rain. Heavy rains which had been continuing since November 11 had almost affected 164,183 in the country and nearly 10,800 had been displaced, recording six deaths according to the Disaster Management Centre.

According to the centre, a total of 10,811 flood-affected people have been already relocated at 59 IDP camps. Some 400 houses have been fully damaged while another 4,746 houses had been partially damaged affecting a total of 42,618 families….