Death toll from floods and landslides rises to 56 in Sri Lanka

Colombo: The death toll due to floods and landslides has risen to 56 and 21 remain missing in Sri Lanka as it announced a public holiday on Friday other than for those involved in essential services.

At least 46 deaths have been recorded within the past 72 hours as adverse weather conditions continue to affect the island, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said.

In view of the emergency situation, the government declared Friday as a public holiday other than for those involved in essential services.

Disaster management officials said that 43,991 people from 12,313 families have been affected by the extreme weather conditions.

Meanwhile, cyclonic storm Ditwah is located near Sri Lanka’s eastern district of Trincomalee, the meteorology department announced on Friday morning.

Ditwah was centred about 50 km south of Trincomalee and was seen to be moving north and northwestwards.

Heavy showers, thunderstorms and strong winds will continue island-wide, with very heavy rainfall above 200 mm expected in several provinces, and up to 150 mm in areas, including Trincomalee in the east, Badulla in central Galle and Matara in the southern province, the weather bureau said.

Winds of 60-70 kmph, gusting up to 80-90 kmph, are likely across much of the country.

SriLankan Airlines said several inbound planes had been diverted to Kochi and Trivandrum in India and the Mattala airport in the southern province.

The government is considering making an international appeal for help at a meeting to be convened by Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya later in the day, sources said.

The railway department said all services have been suspended until further notice from 6 am today.

In the central province town of Gampola, the railway station was completely submerged with several carriages trapped underwater, officials said.

The risk of floods has increased further due to the opening of spill gates at all of the reservoirs throughout the island.