Floods and landslides claim 14 lives, 250,000 affected

Two days of heavy rains triggering off floods and landslides have claimed 14 lives and left two missing as nearly 250,000 were affected across eight districts.

The latest report from the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said that five of the deaths were reported from the Kegalle district followed by three in Ratnapura, two in Gampaha and one each in Colombo, Kalutara, Puttalam and Galle.

Water levels in some of the rivers were still rising with warnings for people to be alert about possible floods. The Kelani River was among them.

The most serious incident reported so far was from Aranayaka, where a family of four was killed in a landslide on Saturday morning.

The family had been living in an area vulnerable to landslides and had stayed on until they completed their new house and move in.

The son had worked in Maldives and earned to complete the new house, but was still in the process of completing it and moving in.

At least three others were killed in landslides and the rest were swept away by flooded rivers or streams.

The Gampaha district was the most affected with 160,000 affected followed by Colombo where about 50,000 have been affected. The other districts affected are Ratnapura, Puttalam, Kalutara, Nuwara Eliya, Kegalle, Kandy, Kurunegala and Galle.

The majority of the affected residents were able to remain in their homes while some 20,000 people were evacuated to camps or moved into houses of relatives.

(Pix by Pushpa Kumara)