The President personally looked into the needs of the affected families and directed the Disaster Management Minister, Special Projects Minister, District Secretaries and the defence forces to provide relief measures to the affected people.

Disaster Management Center (DMC) Spokesman Sarath Lal Kumara said the distribution of food and other relief for those affected by the inclement weather was being carried out through the District Secretaries with the coordination of other regional stakeholders and tri-forces personnel.

He said cooked food and dry rations have been provided to the affected, adding that sufficient funds have been disbursed to the DS offices to carry out relief measures.

Kumara said about 27,811 persons belonging to 7,491 families in Mannar, Kandy, Matale, Kurunegala, Puttalam, Trincomalee, Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura had been affected by heavy rains, floods and high winds over the past few days.

National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) officials requested people to be alert to the possibility of landslides and cut slope failures in Matale, Kandy, Badulla and Nuwara Eliya. (PRIU)