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Heavy rain in Sri Lanka leaves 16 dead, thousands displaced

November 10, 2021
16 people have died in floods and mudslides in Sri Lanka following more than a week of heavy rain, officials said Wednesday.
16 people have died in floods and mudslides in Sri Lanka following more than a week of heavy rain, officials said Wednesday.

COLOMBO — At least 16 people have died in floods and mudslides in Sri Lanka following more than a week of heavy rain, officials said Wednesday according to the Associated Press.

The disaster management center said more than 5,000 people have been displaced from their homes and have taken shelter in relatives' homes or government-run relief centers.

Most deaths have occurred due to drowning and lightening strikes. At least one person is reported missing. Months of October and November are usually the northeastern monsoon season in Sri Lanka. However, higher than usual rainfalls have been reported in most parts of the country this year.

Nearly half of Sri Lanka's 25 districts have been hit by the deluge, with the worst affected areas in and around the island's tea-growing Central Highlands.

"Five deaths and two disappearances were reported" across Sri Lanka since the rains began at the end of October, Pradeep Kodippili of the island's disaster management agency told AFP on Monday.

More floods are likely in the coming days with downpours set to move to the country's northern coast around the city of Jaffna, the country's weather bureau warned.

Scientists say ever-more unpredictable and extreme weather across South Asia has been caused by climate change and exacerbated by deforestation, damming and excessive development.

Sri Lanka’s Meteorology Department warned Monday evening that prevailing rough weather conditions will intensify over the next 24 hours due to a low-pressure situation formed in the south-east Bay of Bengal before it subsides on Nov. 10.

The Met Department has issued a code red (high risk) warning of heavy rainfall above 150mm for the North Western, Western, Sabaragamuwa and Northern provinces and the Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya districts. The rest of the country can expect moderate rainfalls up to 100mm.

“The current weather in Sri Lanka is caused by a wind convergence zone formed in the western part of the country which is enhanced by a low-pressure situation in the South-East area of the Bay of Bengal,” Malik Fernando, a Met Department meteorologist told EconomyNext.

“This will gradually intensify, but our data does not indicate that it is a cyclonic storm at the moment. However, it will intensify to a low pressure and then a depression.”

Fernando said the low pressure in the Bay of Bengal enhances heavy rainfall in the Northern, Western and North-Western parts of the country, particularly in the coastal areas. — Agencies


November 10, 2021
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