Ampara town flooded
© Wasantha ChandrapalaAmpara town flooded due to heavy rains
Heavy rain and storms last week in Sri Lanka have left at least 1 person dead and around 200 homeless.

Meanwhile flooding yesterday in the Maldives has left half of the island of Nadellaa under water, according to a local political leader.

Sri Lanka

The Disaster Management Centre of Sri Lanka (DMCSL), part of the Ministry of Disaster Management, has reported that severe weather, including strong winds and heavy rainfall between 05 and 07 January, has caused flooding, storm damage and landslides in several provinces of the country.

In Eastern province, flooding in on 07 January 2015 in Trincomalee district, affected over 8,000 people, destroying 4 houses and partially damaging a further 51. The municipalities of Gomarankadawala, Kinniya, Kanthale and Thambalagamuwa were all affected, with Kanthale and Thambalagamuwa the worst hit. Around 13 people were displaced in Kanthale.

Local media also reported some flooding in Ampara town, Eastern province, where some roads were blocked as a result.

Floods Sri Lanka
© Wasantha ChandrapalaFloods Sri Lanka

In Northern Province, floods affected Vavuniya North in Vavuniya district on 06 January 2016 after heavy rainfall. According to WMO figures, 71 mm of rain fell in 24 hours in Vavuniya between 06 and 07 January 2016.

Strong winds also caused problems in western Province on 06 January, with 1 person killed in Mahara and over 200 homes damaged in Mahara and Gampaha, Gampaha district, according to DMCSL. Local media reported that several roads in Colombo were flooded because of heavy rain which caused heavy traffic congestion on most of the exit roads in Colombo.

On 07 January, heavy rainfall caused a landslide in Hanguranketha, Nuwara Eliya district, Central province. There was also some storm damage in the Walapane area of the district. Over 60 people have been displaced as a result. A fire in the district on the same day forced a further 100 people to evacuate.

Maldives

Heavy rainfall between 11 and 12 January 2016 in the Maldives has caused some surface flooding yesterday..

Local media report that one of the worst hit areas is the island of Nadellaa, where some streets are under 1 metre of flood water. Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) have been deployed to drain the flooding.

Flood water in the Maldives.
© MNDFClearing the flood water in the Maldives.
Island council president Faisal Najeeb told HaveeruOnline that almost half the island was flooded. He said, "The island gets easily flooded every time it rains. But the amount of rain we experienced since last night is the highest in recent history. We are currently assessing the damage. But it doesn't appear to be too bad," he added.

WMO report that 63 mm of rain fell in Gan in 24 hours to 12 January. Gan is the southernmost island of Addu Atoll, and therefore the southernmost island of the Maldives.

Addu City was hit by severe flooding in November 2015 after 228 mm of rain fell in 24 hours. Around 300 families were affected.