News
Cyclonic conditions cause flooding in the North ahead of monsoon
Scenes in Vavuniya. Pix by Romesh Madusanka
The Meteorology Department has warned that the Northern Province will face thunderstorms throughout November, ahead of the North-East monsoon. However, with heavy rains caused by the cyclonic conditions in the Bay of Bengal, some areas are already facing flood conditions.
In Jaffna, which received over 100mm of rainfall over two consecutive days, 978 families have been affected by flooding, and 33 homes were partially damaged. In Mullaitivu 17 families were affected by flash floods in Puthukku-diyiruppu. Mullaitivu District Secretariat, A. Umamaheswaran, said that water levels in the tanks in Mullaitivu district have become dangerously high and sandbags have been placed to avoid overflowing. In Mannar and Vavuniya low-lying areas are inundated with water. According to officials at the Irrigation Department and Agrarian Development Department in Vavuniya, eight major tanks have spilled over, and three minor tanks have suffered medium damage, with one tank having been breached.
Disaster preparations are currently underway. “The problem is if it continues to rain heavily,” said Musali Divisional Secretariat S. Rajeev. “In any case, we have identified some safe places, like schools, for affected people to use in the event of severe flooding.” Assistant Director of the Jaffna Disaster Management Coordinating Unit, T. N. Sooriyarajah, said that stakeholder meetings have been conducted ahead of the North-East monsoon and that food is being provided to affected families.
The Northern Province Director of Agriculture, Mrs. S. Senthilkumaran, said that agricultural activities were halted for three days last week due to the heavy rains. While paddy is only being sown now and is not too severely affected, vegetable harvests may suffer due to the bad weather, she said.Meanwhile, one flight was cancelled from Jaffna airport due to the adverse weather conditions.
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