Fourteen people have been killed and one person missing after strong winds and heavy rains lashed out across Sri Lanka since last week, the Disaster Management Center (DMC) has said.
According to the latest figures from the DMC, over 100,000 families had been affected in the nine districts due to adverse weather conditions while 114 people had been relocated to safe locations and 22 people been injured.
Sri Lanka’s Meteorology Department earlier on Thursday said that a red alert had been issued for 19 districts as heavy showers of over 100 mm were expected in the 19 districts.
The Meteorology Department said the red alert was issued due to the prevailing low-level atmospheric disturbance over southeast of Sri Lanka and the adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal. It said that it has developed into a low-pressure disturbance and is currently located in the east of the country.
The weather conditions are expected to intensify during the next 24 hours but the lower atmospheric disturbance is likely to move northwestwards. People living in low-lying areas had been advised to relocate inland, the DMC said.