COLOMBO – At least four people lost their lives while over 42,000 others were affected by days of strong winds and heavy rains which lashed Sri Lanka due to the formation of a super cyclone in the Bay of Bengal.
The country’s Disaster Management Center (DMC) said in its latest weather report that the deaths had been a result of severe flooding.
Over 200 houses had been fully or partially damaged, while 175 people belonging to 42 affected families were housed in temporary shelters.
The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) also issued a landslide warning for several districts in the country including the capital Colombo and the south. The NBRO requested people living in high-risk areas to move to safer grounds.
The army has dispatched rescue teams in several districts affected by the floods and has rescued several people who were trapped by the rising water levels.
The Disaster Management Center officials were also deployed in the worst affected districts, setting up facilities to accommodate those displaced by the adverse weather conditions.
According to weather reports, the powerful cyclone that formed in the Bay of Bengal is now headed directly for the India-Bangladesh border, bringing with it the potential for major destruction and upheaval.
Cyclone TAUKTAE will not make landfall on Pakistan s coastal belt
Meanwhile, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has confirmed that a cyclone, being named as “TAUKTAE”, will not make a landfall on the coastal belt of the South Asian country.
Met Office Spokesperson Sardar Sarfraz told the state broadcaster that the cyclone will pass by without touching the coastal belt of the country.
