Rain, rain more rain

Chaminda Perera and Disna Mudalige

*Over 57,000 families affected

*Colombo worst hit, thousands stranded

Over 267,505 persons belonging to 58,288 families were affected due to rains that continued lashing the Western, Sabaragamuwa and the Southern Provinces from last Friday. Colombo is the worst affected district with more than 119,736 affected persons belonging to 22,504 families.

Several roads in the Colombo city and adjacent areas were completely submerged causing heavy traffic jams. The vehicles plying to Colombo were diverted towards Colombo through alternative roads yesterday too.

Traffic movement along the Colombo–Negombo road was also affected yesterday due to floods in Ambalanmulla area.

According to Disaster Management Centre, the number of affected persons in the Gampaha district cannot be verified as several areas are inaccessible to the relief workers due to the magnitude of the floods. Several areas in all District Secretariat Divisions in the Gampaha district except Mirigama were affected due to heavy rains.

The Sri Lanka Navy has deployed boat services to several areas in the Gampaha district to rescue affected people and provide cooked meals to the civilians who were trapped by the floods. Over 1,202 families displaced by the floods have been given accommodation in 27 camps in the Gampaha district and the respective Divisional Secretariats provide cooked meals to all affected persons.

According to a Gampaha District Secretariat officer, necessary food commodities have already been dispatched to the all Divisional Secretariats in the Gampaha district for the preparation of cooked meals on the directive of Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa.

He said two deaths and three people were reported missing from the district due to floods.

Meanwhile, Kalutara District Secretary S. Hapuarachchi said 22,262 persons belonging to 6,033 families in the Kalutara district were affected by the incessant rains that started last Friday.

According to Hapuarachchi, the District Secretariat with the coordination of respective Divisional Secretariat Divisions and the Disaster Management Centre are providing cooked meals to the affected families. Over 24 houses were completely damaged and 24 houses are reported to have partly damaged due to floods in the district, he said.

He added that Palinda Nuwara, Panadura, Kalutara are the worst affected Divisional Secretariat Divisions in the district due to floods.

The District Secretary said that over 42 persons belonging to nine families in the Wanduramulla Tsunami Housing Scheme were evacuated and were temporarily accommodated at the Punyawardenaramaya Temple in Panadura due to an imminent earth slip in the vicinity of the housing scheme.

Hapuarachchi added that the mouth of the Kalu Ganga would be widened to prevent flooding in the low lying areas in the district.