Ten people were killed and five others missing during the past 24 hours as heavy rains and strong winds lashed out across Sri Lanka, the Disaster Management Center (DMC) said.
Most of the deaths were reported from the capital Colombo as more than 150 mm of rain was experienced since the early hours of Sunday, news reports said.
The Health Ministry said that it had instructed all health directors in provinces to be on alert and ready for any emergency in hospitals. The Ministry added it had made all arrangements to airlift patients in critical condition to larger hospitals from village areas as the flood worsened.
Sri Lanka issued a major flood alert in the outskirts of capital Colombo and several other areas of the island as heavy rains lashed across the country on Sunday https://t.co/JDN9sK3Lct pic.twitter.com/EoZPzmAAK8
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) June 3, 2024
The Department of Meteorology on Sunday warned of heavy rains throughout the country within the next 48 hours, while the DMC said that rescue operations were underway. The public had been urged to stay at home and to avoid going into flooded areas.
The Education Ministry said that all schools will remain closed on Monday due to further rains expected.
71 high risk dengue zones declared
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's National Dengue Control Unit (NDCU) has said that 71 divisions in 15 districts, including the capital Colombo, had been identified as high-risk zones for dengue fever.
The NDCU said on Sunday in a statement that it carried out a survey between May 26 and June 1 and observed a surge in mosquito breeding places, Xinhua news agency reported.
The agency added that though dengue cases reported from January to April remained relatively low, a surge of cases could be expected from May onwards with the onset of southwest monsoon according to experience from previous years.
According to the NDCU, nearly 25,000 cases have been reported so far this year with nine deaths.
(With inputs from IANS)
