Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Center says the death toll from days of relentless rainfall has risen to 40, while 21 people remain unaccounted for as severe weather continues into the weekend.
Authorities have issued red alerts ordering immediate evacuations in several Divisional Secretariat areas across the districts of Badulla, Kandy, Kegalle, Kurunegala, Matale, Monaragala, and Nuwara Eliya due to escalating landslide threats. Roughly 20 districts have been affected, with the heaviest damage reported in Badulla, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Chilaw, Puttalam, and Ampara.
Badulla has suffered the greatest loss with 23 fatalities. Kandy has declared a state of emergency after five deaths and two missing persons, with 3,500 residents from about 1,000 families impacted. The district has seen 37 homes completely destroyed and 99 partially damaged.
In Nuwara Eliya, six people have died and four are missing, with 171 families—totaling 613 individuals—affected and 84 homes partially damaged.
Several other districts continue to struggle:
-
Ampara reports four deaths and 7,400 people affected from 2,300 families.
-
Kurunegala has displaced 5,401 individuals from 1,536 families and recorded damage to 177 homes.
-
Matale confirms one fatality and 2,072 people affected from 688 families.
-
Ratnapura reports 768 affected, including 95 people in shelters.
-
Matara has 1,083 individuals from 311 families impacted.
-
Galle has one death and 537 affected.
-
Colombo has 500 people affected from 121 families, two injuries, and 116 homes damaged.
Rail services have suspended all night mail trains except for the Jaffna line, and the Ceylon Electricity Board continues to work on nearly 45,000 reported outages—having restored close to 28,000 despite ongoing weather challenges.
All preschools and early childhood development centers will remain closed nationwide beginning November 28 until conditions improve. Meanwhile, authorities are distributing cooked meals, dry rations, and medical assistance. The public is urged to remain alert for further flooding or landslides and to contact the emergency hotline 117 if needed.
