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Rain brings relief from hot days, but winds bring destruction
View(s):There was relief from the hot and humid weather this week with intermittent rains in many areas of the country, but strong gusts of wind that accompanied the rains caused damage to houses and other properties and felled trees in some areas. Two villages along the Puttalam-Mannar road were subjected to strong cyclonic winds and around 20 houses were badly damaged with roofs being blown away, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said.
Meanwhile in the Sabaragamuwa Province, rainfall levels were as high as 110 mm. This prompted the DMC to issue landslide warnings for Kegalle and Rathnapura Districts. The Department of Meteorology also issued warnings of heavy rain and strong winds for the coastal towns, from Galle to Kankesanthurai and advised fishermen from going out to sea.
In Polonnaruwa, water levels in most reservoirs went up rapidly raising to just 0.1 ft. below the FSL (Full Supply Level). The Department of Irrigation had responded promptly, opening two gates of the Parakrama Samudraya. Humidity levels were generally high. In Colombo they were at 79% and in Polonnaruwa they went up to 91% and this pattern will continue throughout this month, the officials said.
Meteorology Department’s Director Weather Forecasting Anusha Warnasooriya said that April was always a high humid month and there was nothing abnormal about the prevailing humidity levels.
After the storm: Roofless homes. Pix by Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe
