More than one thousand houses were damaged and at least 15 people injured when strong winds caused havoc in Puttalam yesterday.
The Meteorology Department warned that more such winds were likely in the next few days in Puttalam and other parts of the country.
At least 50 fishing boats were also damaged and some of them were washed into the sea from the lagoon, eyewitnesses said. About 15 injured people were admitted to hospital.
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| A storm-devastated Puttalam village |
Meteorological Deputy Director (Forecast) S.R. Jayasekera said the prevailing strong winds were a result of a series of typhoons and tropical storms in Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines where hundreds were killed.
Sri Lanka, southern parts of India and the Maldives are some countries that were experiencing indirect effects of those typhoons, he said.
Mr. Jayasekra said the rains and strong winds would continue as another strong typhoon was heading towards the northern Philippines.Tropical storms over seas in the Asian region could trigger strong winds and cause damage to house and property.
Occasional showers and strong winds will be experienced in the Central, Sabaragamuwa and Western provinces, as well as in the Galle, Matara and Kurunegala districts.
Keerthi Ekanayake, national co-ordinator at the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), said there was a high landslide risk in the hilly parts of the country, while strong winds could cause damage in the Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Ratnapura, Galle, Kandy, and Matale districts.
“Four deaths have been reported and some 50 houses have been damaged so far,” he said. “Three persons have been injured in Galle and another three in Kandy.”
R. M. S. Bandara of the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) said landslide warnings have been issued to the Ambagamuwa district secretariat division in Nuwara Eliya district, especially Maussakelle, Canyon, Castlereigh, Maskeliya, Ginigathhena and Norton Bridge. |
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