(3 Jun 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kolonnawa, Sri Lanka – 3 June 2024
1. Various of people walking through flooded roads, carrying or floating their belongings
2. SOUNDBITE (Sinhala) Chamara Senevirathna, Taxi Driver:
"The amount of water has risen substantially compared to this morning. In our area, all our houses have been flooded. The ground floors are flooded, it’s become impossible for people to live in. All the things in our houses, the TVs, the fridges, all of them have been tied up on the roof using rope. Many people have become helpless. The water is not going down, rather it looks as though the water is going to continue rising. A lot of people are helpless here in the Kallemulle area (of Kolonnawa). There are babies, pregnant mothers, who aren’t even able to get out of their houses. There’s that much water. There is too much flooding on the roads.”
3. Flooded road, people stranded
4. Dog on top of table to avoid floods
5. Children being looked after in a safe place
6. Various of couple entering their flooded home
7. Flooded intersection
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Pradeep Kodippilli, Director of Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre:
“Due to the bad weather situation in Sri Lanka, mainly four districts have been affected. For for the moment, more than 41,000 people are being affected in Kaluthara, Galle, Mathara, and Rathnapura, as well as Colombo – specially in the Seethawaka Divisional Secretary Area. So, for the moment, there are 12 deaths being recorded due to the cutting (electricity) failures as well as the flood situation. And still five (people) missing. All the search and rescue teams in place and they are looking for these missing persons as well. Warnings for landslides are still there, and we are alerting all these communities to be very vigilant with these signs of landslides. We have evacuated more than 5,000 people over 66 evacuation centres. All relief measures are being taken.”
9. Flooded road
10.SOUNDBITE (English) Pradeep Kodippilli, Director of Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre:
“The river levels are not at a very favourable level but, still, the flood situation is there. The flood water is receding at the moment. But as the Met. Department is expecting more rain, so we are alerting the communities to be well vigilant with their particular citizens.”
11. People walking through flooded road
STORYLINE:
Sri Lanka closed schools on Monday as heavy rain triggered floods and mudslides in many parts of the island nation, leaving several people dead, officials said.
The education ministry announced that the reopening of schools would depend on how the weather develops.
Heavy downpours have wreaked havoc in many parts of the country since Sunday, flooding homes, fields and roads, and forcing authorities to cut electricity as a precaution.
Six people died after being washed away and drowning in the capital, Colombo, and the remote Rathnapura district on Sunday, according to the disaster management centre.
Three others died when mounds of earth collapsed on their houses, and one person died when a tree fell on him.
Six people have gone missing since Sunday.
Pradeep Kodippilli, director of the Disaster Management Centre, put the death toll at 12, and said 5 people were still missing.
By Monday, over 5,000 people had been moved to evacuation centres and more than 400 homes had been damaged, the centre said.
Navy and army troops have been deployed to rescue victims and provide food and other essentials to those affected.
AP video by Jayampathi Palipane
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