Colombo: The number of deaths caused by floods and landslides had increased to 64, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said today with more than 400,000 people of some 100,000 families being affected.

“About 134 people are still missing, 29 people are injured and over 350,000 are displaced,” DMC sources said.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from homes across the island to some 594 shelters.

In the capital, more than 185,000 have been displaced, including tens of thousands taken to temporary shelters. Others were camping on rooftops and the top floors of buildings. Electricity has been cut in flooded areas to prevent electrocutions.

While central and western districts of the country were those initially affected, reports on Friday said the former war-ridden areas of Northern Killinochchi had by Friday recorded high levels of rain with at least 550 families badly affected.

President Maithripala Sirisena in a special address to the nation stated that a three-pronged action plan had been put in place by the government to handle the crisis; the first being to provide maximum welfare facilities to the people in distress and the second being to adopt strategies to face a situation in the event of the rains intensifying while the government would, as a third strategy, prepare itself for the aftermath of the crisis, to construct houses for the displaced and provide their health and sanitation requirements thereafter.

The water level in the swollen Kelani river flowing past Colombo is receding, bringing some relief to the people living in Wellampitiya and adjacent areas who faced an unprecedented deluge and marooning over several days.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2016