The devastating floods and landslides in Sri Lanka have claimed the lives of at least 607 people, according to the latest figures released by the Disaster Management Centre. With 214 individuals still missing, the prospect of finding survivors is diminishing rapidly.
Over two million people have been affected by the severe weather, triggered by Cyclone ‘Ditwah’ which finally moved away from the island nation last Saturday after wreaking widespread destruction. The cyclone brought torrential rains causing rivers to overflow and triggering deadly landslides across the country.
The National Building Research Organisation issued fresh warnings earlier today concerning the precarious weather conditions in the central highlands of the island. Authorities are particularly concerned about the risk of further landslides.
“Rainfall has exceeded 150 millimeters in some areas over the past 24 hours,” a statement from the organisation read. “If this continues, seek shelter immediately to avoid the risk of landslides.”
The focus remains on providing aid to those displaced by the disaster and continuing the search for the missing. The scale of the devastation is immense, and the recovery process is expected to be long and challenging.
