Image credit - Eranga Jayawardena
The search for missing people continues in Sri Lanka. Cyclone Roanu before intensifying into a storm had poured torrential rains in Sri Lanka earlier this week. According to the disaster management department’s spokesman Pradeep Kodippily, several thousands of people were affected by heavy rains, floods and earth slips on Tuesday.
Heavy rainfall on Thursday once again lashed the central parts of Sri Lankan, leading to landslides which swallowed three hillside villages. Sri Lankan soldiers also continue their search for massive landslide survivors in Kegalle district, about 72 kilometers north of Colombo.
Image credit - Eranga Jayawardena
As rains have now reduced significantly, hundreds of soldiers resumed the very difficult search mission on Friday. However, the situation still remains grim in the country as light rains are keeping the ground unstable and we cannot rule out threat of more mudslides.
Here’s a look at the rainfall figures in a span of 24 hours from 8.30 am on Thursday:
Today morning the rescuers successfully recovered 30 bodies out of hundreds of people believed to be buried by red mud in the villages of Siripura, Pallebage and Elangapitya on Thursday.
Image credit - CNN
In the image above we can see the Sri Lankan rescue team carrying an elderly woman from the floodwaters.
Image credit - CNN
On May 19, CNN reported that over 340,000 people have been displaced by flood waters.
According to latest media reports, death toll has risen to 63 people and nearly half a million have been displaced.
Death toll from flash floods, landslides in Sri Lanka climbs to 63; nearly half a million affected pic.twitter.com/DL3bt8KuIX
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) May 20, 2016
Please Note: Any information picked from here must be attributed to skymetweather.com