The​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ Sri Lanka floods that turned out to be a disaster have caused the death toll to rise to at least 69 people, while 34 people are still missing. Rescue operations are underway all over the island nation. Among the rescuers are helicopters and navy boats, which have been deployed to reach residents who are stranded on their rooftops, trees, and in villages that have been cut off by floodwaters.

Widespread Destruction and Human Toll

The disaster management authorities inform that the floods and landslides have caused damage to nearly 3,000 homes. Over 18,000 people have been relocated to temporary shelters as the waters kept rising.

Some locations recorded rainfalls of up to 360 millimetres in a 24-hour period, which led to rivers overflowing their banks, among them the Kelani River close to the capital, Colombo, causing flooding in suburbs and towns nearby.

People whose houses were flooded say that it had never happened before. A person living in a suburb outside Colombo said that this might be the worst flood in his area in three decades.

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Landslides, Infrastructure Damage, and Isolated Communities

The areas most affected are said to be the central and the mountain-region districts, where the heavy rains caused landslides that took the lives of several people. Most of the victims, it is reported, were buried alive when mud and debris descended on their homes at night.

Besides urban flooding, the submergence of villages is reported; the destruction of the road and rail networks, essential infrastructure, is among the consequences of the floods. In a number of districts located in the north and east, communication networks that had been lifelines for families have been severed, thus making it impossible for the family members to reach each other and inform them about their safety in the flood-hit areas.

In the northern district of Vavuniya, a car was carried away by floodwaters with two casualties reported.

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What Comes Next — Relief, Risk, and Uncertainty

Authorities warn that further downpours and floods are still to be expected. The ongoing storm — Cyclone Ditwah — that influences the weather over the region is the main reason for the risk of more flash floods or mudslides increasing.

Given that a multitude of people have had to leave their homes, the power has been cut off in many areas, and vital transport links have been broken, relief operations are up against major logistical challenges. There are still many residents whose whereabouts are unknown, and reaching the remote areas that have been cut off is extremely difficult.

The disaster of this week is especially bad when compared to the others that have happened on the island in the last 20 or so years. As the waters from the Sri Lanka floods gradually go down in some places, the total extent of the loss of human lives, damage to the infrastructure, and economic losses is still to be seen. Meanwhile, hundreds of relief workers, emergency teams, and volunteers are working hard to rescue, evacuate, and provide aid to people in need all over Sri ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌Lanka.

Sri Lanka Floods – Key Facts & Recent Stats

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