WEATHER GODS ATWAR

Twenty-seven dead, twenty-nine missing Houses damaged, several resorts also under water

Adverse weather conditions had claimed 27 lives most of them were fishermen, the Daily Mirror learns. Disaster Management Centre Media Spokesperson Sarath Lal Kumara yesterday said according to official reports 27 fishermen had died as a result of strong winds and rough weather in the sea areas. He said search operations were still underway to look for 29 individuals who had gone missing.

Several tourist resorts in Kalpitiya went under water as a result of sea erosion caused by the extreme weather conditions

Reports from Beruwala said bodies of seven persons were recovered last afternoon, bringing the death toll up to 27. A father-of-six died when a tree fell on his house in Ratnapura yesterday morning.

According to the Disaster Management Centre, the strong winds that swept through many parts of the island had partly destroyed over 2185 houses while 101 houses had been fully damaged. Ninety-eight houses were damaged in the Gampaha District.

Several tourist resorts in Kalpitiya went under water as a result of sea erosion caused by the extreme weather conditions. Waves splashed the coast causing heavy damage to the resorts and many inconven- iences to the tourists. The land area between Odaya, a lake in the district and the sea had been submerged, joining the sea and the lake together. Ajith Kumara, an owner of the resort in the area said sea erosion was the obvious reason for the disaster.

Railway bungalows in Hatton were also reported to be under water. Spill gates were opened at Laxapana, Upper Kotmale, Canyon and Maussakele reservoirs.

Meanwhile, Duty Meteorologist at the Met. Department stated that rainfall would decrease and monsoon winds would weaken compared to the situation that prevailed over the past few days. However the rainfall was more than 70mm in most areas while it exceeded 100mm in the hill country.

She noted that the heavy winds were caused due to the convergence of wind flows coupled with the active monsoon rains. However, she said the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, Uva and Southern provinces would receive showers over the next few days.

While noting that the warning issued to the fishing community against rough seas had been lifted, the Duty Meteorologist said the fishing community should be cautious about wind flows in the shallow and deep seas as the wind speed might increase up to 80 kmph.

Additional reports by Kamal Sri Liyanage, Sarath Siriwardene, H. Dharamapala, Hemantha de Silva. Padma Kumari, Tilakaratne Dissanayake, Amarasekera Ilangaratne and Sarath Madawala.