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Sri Lanka A fresh landslide warning has been issued as the death toll from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditvah crossed 600.
Ditwah, one of a series of storms that killed more than 1,800 Asia In recent weeks, the island nation came under attack earlier this month.
The Sri Lankan Disaster Management Center said ongoing monsoon rains were affecting areas already devastated by the cyclone, further destabilizing mountainous terrain in the central highlands and northwestern midlands. Many communities that had just begun clearing debris now faced new threats of slope failure and landslides.
The National Building Research Organization late on Sunday expanded its warning to cover Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Badulla, Matale, Kegalle, Kurunegala and Ratnapura after repeated mud movements were detected over hilly settlements. This raised the alert to level 3 for several locations, indicating imminent danger of slope failure.
The Meteorological Department has predicted 150-200 mm of rain in the higher reaches along with strong winds on the eastern slopes.
The death toll from floods and landslides has risen to 627, while hundreds are still missing. Officials said more than 20 lakh people, or about 10 percent of the population, have been affected by the cyclone, while thousands are still displaced.
Although floodwaters have begun to recede in some parts of the island, the disaster management agency warned that saturated soils and continued rains posed a “very high” landslide risk in many districts.
Helicopters and military aircraft were delivering supplies to towns and estates cut off by landslides. Telecommunication services were disrupted in the hilly areas, complicating rescue operations.
The number of people in shelters has fallen from a high of 225,000 to about 90,000, the AFP news agency reported.
The government announced a compensation package on Friday to rebuild homes and businesses destroyed by the storm.
Officials estimate that recovery and reconstruction work could cost up to $7 billion in 2022, a serious burden for a country emerging from a debilitating economic crisis.
The government has asked for an additional $200 million from the International Monetary Fund, which is helping the country recover from the crisis by 2022, for relief and reconstruction efforts.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake declared the disaster a “national priority”, emphasizing that weak infrastructure and overstretched public services were struggling with the scale of the devastation.
The death toll is expected to rise further as search teams reach isolated areas. Many estates and mountain settlements are battling multiple landslides, and officials say they are still unable to fully assess the cut-off areas.
in the southeast Asia, Indonesia North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Aceh remain the worst-hit states due to floods and landslides caused by the storm, with damaged roads and collapsed bridges hampering rescue operations.
Authorities there said they were investigating allegations of illegal logging, which many activists allege has contributed to the flooding.
Thailand Has gone into recovery. Government spokesperson Rachda Dhanadirek said water and electricity had been restored to almost all affected areas and about 120,000 families had received compensation. Heavy rains earlier in the week caused widespread flooding in 12 southern provinces, killing more than 180 people.