Colombo—The death toll reach at least 151 and some half a million people were displaced from their home following the large scale of flooding and dozens of mudslides in Sri Lanka on Sunday.
Government run Disaster Management Center on Sunday declared that 112 people were missing in the flood and landslide. The flooding was worst since 2003 in the country. According to the calculation of the authorities, more than 1,800 houses have been destroyed and 442,000 people directly and indirectly affected.
Some cities were under 18-feet of water, and the navy sent rescue teams to search for survivors. They moved about 2,000 residents to safer places over the weekend. Yet Maj. Gen. Sudantha Ranasinghe, who is supervising the Sri Lankan military’s rescue operations, believed the worst danger had passed. “Floodwaters are receding,” he said, though “some areas are still inundated.”
The authorities have ordered people to evacuate the banks of three key rivers — the Nilwala in the southern area, the Gin in the west and the Kelani, which runs through the capital, Colombo — fearing that they will outpour. Even though water levels were drawing back Sunday night, disaster management officials were suspicious as more rain was expected in the southwestern parts of the island in the next few hours.
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