By Sarah Hannan Pre-monsoon cyclonic weather left thousands affected across 13 districts over a seven-day period with the intensity of the adverse weather reaching its peak on 19 and 20 May. According to the Department of Meteorology, the southwest monsoon is forecasted to commence in the coming days and the adverse weather that the country experienced was a result of inter-monsoon rain which was fortified by a super cyclone that was some 1,400 km away from the country over the Bay of Bengal. River water levels started to rise at an alarming rate prompting flood warnings, and with torrential rains that continued for the most part of the day, the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) issued early landslide caution alerts to at least 10 districts of the southwestern quadrant of the country. The Sunday Morning contacted Disaster Management Centre (DMC) Director General Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Sudantha Ranasinghe to inquire on the level of preparedness the DMC had to mitigate the situation. “Our disaster management response teams were preparing to handle the impending natural disasters during the southwest monsoon. So, when the country faced inclement weather throughout last week, we had already kept eight Sri Lanka Army battalions on the ready from the Puttalam, Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Galle, Matara, Ratnapura, and Kegalle Districts. Three hundred and sixty rapid response units from the Sri Lanka Navy, the special task forces, and the Sri Lanka Police were also mobilised to respond to any disaster evacuation and rescue operations,” he noted. Due to the imminent threat of the virus and to reduce overcrowding in the earmarked safe locations, the public in disaster-stricken areas are given the option of seeking shelter with friends and family, the DMC revealed. Maj. Gen. Ranasinghe reiterated that although families are taking shelter with their next of kin or friends, they were not deprived from receiving disaster relief. All district disaster management units had created WhatsApp groups, including officials from the DMC, the NBRO, and the Irrigation Office to communicate in instantly. Maj. Gen. Ranasinghe opined that these communication channels had massively assisted in evacuating the people from danger zones.

“For the period from 15 to 21 May, a total of 4,457 houses have been either partially or fully damaged, for which the Disaster Relief Fund has allocated Rs. 30.72 million to the respective district secretariats to pay the spot relief allowance of Rs. 10,000 for each house that sustained damages. In addition to this, Rs. 3.3 million has been provided for the purchase of the dry rations to be distributed to those who are seeking shelter with their relatives and to facilitate the supply of cooked meals for persons relocated to safe locations earmarked by the DMC,” National Disaster Relief Services Centre (NDRSC) Disaster Management Director Chaminda Pathiraja noted.

Every district is allocated Rs. 1 million for the purpose of disaster response work and these allocations too were utilised by the respective district secretariats, Pathiraja noted. In addition, for property damages, the NDRSC will release the required funds once the damage assessment is carried out and the reports are submitted. Fisheries affected Tyronne Mendis, a fisherman from Negombo, said that most of the multi-day trawlers will not be affected by this weather as they are already in deep seas, fishing in international waters. However, it is the fishermen who earn a living through their days’ catch who suffer the most. Mendis also said that multi-day trawlers generally venture into the seas for 10-14 days at a stretch and there were several vessels that still have not come back. He elaborated that these vessels sail to international waters adjacent to the Maldives and Somalia. In the meantime, following the warnings issued by the Department of Meteorology, on 15 May, many multi-day vessels that had set out to sea were radioed to return to land as the storms were getting stronger. One hundred such multi-day trawlers had returned by 18 May, according to Beruwala Fisheries Port Manager Edward Dayamal. Kegalle District The first taste of the cyclonic weather was felt by the Kegalle District when 1,868 persons from 568 families were affected by the flash floods, cutting failures, and high winds from 14 to 16 May. Two deaths were reported from the Kegalle and Galigamuwa Divisional Secretariat Divisions (DSDs); the causes of their deaths were cutting failure and drowning, respectively. On 17 May, the DMC stated that 12 rivers including Kelani, Kalu, Gin, Nilwala, Bentara, Kukule, Mee Oya, Maha Oya, Attanagalu Oya, Deduru Oya, and several reservoirs u nder the Department of Irrigation were identified as high-risk catchment areas that would prompt flooding when the southwest monsoon intensified. Galle District Strong winds swept across four divisional secretariats of the Galle District on Sunday, 17 May, damaging 44 houses, two commercial buildings, and infrastructure. As a result of the winds, 37 houses in the Elpitiya North, one in the Elpitiya East, five in the Atakotte, and one in the Elpitiya Central divisional secretariats were damaged. Kalutara District The Meteorological Department forecasted that the sea areas around the island could be rough from the sea area extending from Puttalam to Trincomalee via Colombo, Galle, Hambantota, and Pottuvil. Winds will be south-westerly in the sea area around the island. Wind speed will be 50-55 kmph. Wind speed can increase up to 70-80 kmph, at times, in the sea area extending from Puttalam to Pottuvil via Colombo, Galle, and Hambantota. Although fishermen were asked not to go to sea, many disregarded the warnings and ventured to sea only to be faced with life-threatening consequences. A day-catch boat that ventured into sea from Payagala in Kalutara, despite the warnings, capsized on 18 May claiming two lives and injuring one person, Fisheries Departme nt Fisheries Development Director H.J.M. Nihal Palitha informed. Prior to the development of the cyclonic weather, multi-day trawlers and vessels had already ventured out to sea from the western coast. Rathnapura District On 19 May, a total of 15,269 persons from the Ratnapura District were affected by the floods and landslides which occurred within the day, prompting the relocation of 849 persons to 16 safe locations, appointed by the respective divisional secretariat, while another 728 persons sought shelter with their relatives. A total of three deaths were reported with two caused by cutting failure and one caused by a capsized boat (a person who went to observe the floods in a boat had been the victim), the DMC reported. On 19 May alone, a total of 11 houses had been fully damaged due to floods, landslides, and high winds, with 1,123 more houses sustaining partial damages; 885 persons are housed at 17 safe locations appointed by the respective divisional secretariat, while 1,942 persons sought shelter with their relatives. Photo by Danu Deshapriya