Heavy Rains Devastate Sri Lanka: 40 Dead, 21 Missing Thousands Displaced

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Disaster Management Center reports the death toll from relentless heavy rains battering Sri Lanka has climbed to 40, with 21 people still missing as adverse weather persists into the weekend.

Red alerts for immediate evacuations have been issued across multiple Divisional Secretariat areas in Badulla, Kandy, Kegalle, Kurunegala, Matale, Monaragala, and Nuwara Eliya districts due to heightened landslide risks. At least 20 districts face impacts, with Badulla, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Chilaw, Puttalam, and Ampara suffering the most severe damage.

Badulla records the highest casualties at 23 deaths, while Kandy declares a state of emergency after five fatalities and two missing persons, affecting 3,500 individuals from 1,000 families with 37 houses fully destroyed and 99 partially damaged.

Nuwara Eliya reports six deaths and four missing, impacting 613 people from 171 families and damaging 84 houses partially.

Other hard-hit areas include Ampara with four deaths and 7,400 affected from 2,300 families; Kurunegala with 5,401 people from 1,536 families displaced and 177 houses damaged; Matale with one death and 2,072 affected from 688 families; Ratnapura with 768 from 108 families and 95 sheltering; Matara with 1,083 from 311 families; Galle with one death and 537 affected; and Colombo with 500 from 121 families, two injuries, and 116 houses damaged.

Railway services cancel all night mail trains except the Jaffna route, while the Ceylon Electricity Board tackles 45,000 outages, restoring nearly 28,000 despite ongoing weather hurdles.

Preschools and early childhood centers close nationwide from November 28 until conditions improve, prioritizing child safety. Authorities distribute cooked meals, dry rations, and medical aid, urging the public to call the 117 hotline for emergencies and stay vigilant against further flooding and landslides.