Bad weather wreaks havoc

Holiday crowd in N’ eliya despite foul weather:

YASARATNE GAMAGE, Indika Plkotuwa and P Rajaratnam

* Collapsing wall kills child aged three

* Two die in earth mound collapse

* Three dragged away by flood waters

* Ten reported missing in Matale

Yapa visits flood-hit areas in Kurunegala

Environment Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa toured areas in Kurunegala affected by floods on President Mahinda Rajapaksa's instructions yesterday.

He took steps to provide assistance for the affected people.

He also visited the work site of a bridge being constructed near the Kurunegala Hospital. The minister told officials to complete the work by today.

Deputy Minister Jayaratne Herath and ministry officials were also present.

A three - year - old girl died while her mother was seriously wounded when a wall in their house collapsed at Dunuwila in Meda Mahanuwara on Tuesday morning.

Nethuki Kavindya Ratnayake died in the incident while her mother was admitted to Meda Mahanuwara Hospital.

Meanwhile, two persons died when a mound of earth fell on a three wheeler they were traveling in, at Enamalpotha junction in Ududumbara on the Kandy - Mahiyangana road on Tuesday.

S M W Kiribanda,40, and B Wijethilaka ,38, of Ududumbara succumbed to their injuries at Ududubara hospital. Investigations are continuing.

Meanwhile, two persons in Karadiyanaru were dragged away by flood waters while 451 persons of 31 families have been displaced due to floods in Koduvamadu, Pankudaweli, Kayanikuda, Eralakulam and Veppachettuwan.

The deceased were identified as M Rahulam, 34, and P Pathmanadan, 36, of Iyyankeni and Kaluwankeni.

Karadiyanaru Police commenced rescue operations.

Investigations are contnuing.

In another incident, a 17 - year - old was dragged away by flood waters when he went to the Kolabunu Oya in Diulwewa, Hettipola that was overflowing on Tuesday. W M Kasun Geethasena of Diulwewa went missing in the incident.

Meanwhile, a 29 - year - old man went missing in Pulasthipura when a boat carrying a group of rescued persons was stranded at the Somawathi sacred area, overturned and hit a tree.

Several large, medium and small scale tanks in the North Central Province have reached spill level on account of the heavy rains experienced in the region during the past week. Here, the Nachchaduwa Tank with its spill gates opened to release excess water. Right: Several areas underwater in Kalattewa. Pictures by Amila Prabath Wanasinghe

Ten persons and a child who were in the boat survived.

The incident occurred when the Army, the Police and the people in the area were transporting traders and cattle watchers stranded at the Somawathi sacred area to safety using canoes and boats. Another person went missing in the flood waters while he was clearing the estuary of the New Harbour in Hambantota.

The victim was identified as Dhanushka Madusandka Wijesooriya,20, of Samagipura. Meanwhile, 35 persons including 11 women and nine children were stranded on the Manampitiya Sama Palama due to heavy rain and floods.

In Naula, three bridges across Amban Ganga were destroyed cutting off several villages.

Access to Kambarawa, Galporugolla and Moragolla has been completely blocked. Some GCE O - L candidates in several villages were not able to attend the exam. Meanwhile, 10 persons were reported missing in the Matale district yesterday, following heavy rains and subsequent floods and landslides during the previous four days, a spokesman for the District Disaster Management Office said.

Of them, nine were from the Rattota DS division and the rest from the Matale DS division.

Apart from that, eight deaths have been reported from Rattota.

Meanwhile, the number of displaced persons from the Matale district were 3,242 belonging to 1,029 families.

They have been accommodated in 14 temporary shelters. The Disaster Management Ministry has allocated over Rs 2.5 million additional funds for disaster relief in the Matale district.

District Secretary M Meegasmulla said Rs 15,000 would be given to bereaved families for funeral rites of their members who had died during the disaster situation.

Meanwhile, the highway from Nuwara Eliya to Badulla was impassable for traffic due to a landslide near the Hakgala Botancial Gardens.

Meanwhile, Nuwara Eliya is experiencing heavy rains and strong winds.However, holiday crowds, including locals and foreigners can be seen in Nuwara Eliya,despite the wet weather.