Colombo, May 26 (NIA) – Sri Lanka’s Aranayake town, in the Kegalle District was among the six districts placed on a landslide warning by the Disaster Management Center on Friday, following hours of heavy rains and strong winds across the country.
DMC Spokesperson, Pradeep Kodippili said that authorities had been told to be on alert in Aranayake and evacuate residents who were residing in any landslide prone areas.
“We are continuously monitoring the situation as six districts have been placed on a landslide warning. Authorities have been informed to remain on alert in Aranayake as well,” Kodippili said.
Just a year ago, the little town of Aranayake made headlines when an entire neighbourhood was buried due to a massive landslide following days of heavy rains and strong winds.
Authorities say 140 bodies were recovered buried under the mud but the death toll is far much higher.
Troops and rescue teams worked for days to recover as many bodies possible while those who survived were permanently relocated to safer locations.
Some 80 houses in total were buried in the tragedy, which is termed as one of the deadliest landslides to hit the island country.
Meanwhile, 13 people deaths were reported while four reported missing from several areas of the country due to the inclement weather on Friday, the Government Information Department said.
