Minister Vijitha Herath said that the government is ready to pay compensation to the farmers in the country affected by the crops destroyed due to the adverse weather conditions owing to floods after estimating the damages caused based on the current circulars issued.
Highways Deputy Minister Prasanna Kumara said that all possible measures have been taken to restore the damaged roads due to the inclement weather.
The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said that 3,183 members of the Tri-Forces and the police have been deployed to provide relief to the people affected by the adverse weather conditions experienced in the country. Sri Lanka Army has deployed 2,080 officers, Navy 520 personnel, Air Force 540 officers, and 43 Police officers.
For the relief measures, 239 boats, 111 unicorn vehicles, 40 tractors and 64 trucks have been used. According to the DMC, six airplanes and eight drones have also been deployed.
The Met Department said that a decrease in the prevailing rainy weather conditions is expected today as the deep depression is expected to move north-west and develop into a cyclonic storm and move out of Sri Lanka towards the coast of Tamil Nadu, India.
The death toll due to inclement weather in the country has risen to 14 persons according to the DMC and nine deaths have been reported from the Ampara District, two from the Puttalam District, and one each from the Badulla, Trincomalee, and Vavuniya Districts.
The DMC further stated that two persons were reported missing from the Ampara District, while 20 persons were reported injured due to various disaster incidents. A total of 442,185 persons from 132,289 families have been severely affected due to inclement weather experienced across 24 districts of the country. According to DMC 38,594 persons from 12,334 are currently placed in 341 safety shelters, while 115,628 persons from 45,415 families are placed in relatives’ houses. Ampara district has been most affected due to the prevailing rainy weather conditions and 149,491 people belonging to 43,631 families have been affected.
The Irrigation Department said it has decided to extend the flood warning issued for Mahaweli River, Heda Oya, Deduru Oya and Mundeniyaru for the next 48 hours. Accordingly, the people living in the lowlands near these rivers are advised to be vigilant about this situation and the people traveling through those areas have also been cautioned.
Meanwhile, due to the prevailing adverse weather conditions, the early warning announcement about landslides issued by the National Building Research Organization (NBRO) for 70 Divisional Secretariat Divisions in 09 districts continues to be effective. Red alerts have been issued for 25 divisional secretariat divisions in the districts of Kandy, Kegalle, Matale and Nuwara Eliya.
