Water supply to Colombo threatened !

The supply of water to Colombo will come to a complete halt if the 13 supply pipelines at Ambatale purification plant get submerged by another three feet, say sources at the purification plant.

It supplies 530,000 litres to Colombo each day.

The water level of Kelani River has gone up to 7.4 feet according to the Nagalagam Street water gauge, which is a high risk level of flooding.

A minor flooding occurs when the water level is at between three and five feet, high risk flooding when it is between five and nine feet, and a major flooding if it goes over nine feet.

The biggest flooding in recent history occurred in 1989, said irrigation director Hema Hettiarachchi.

Heavy rainfall and thunder showers around the Island

According the Department of Meteorology, the depression in the Bay of Bengal has intensified in to a deep depression and now located to about 500km north of Kankasanturai. It is further moving away from the island.

The Department added that there is a high possibility to sudden increase of rain in the South-western part of the country. If so, heavy rainfall between 100-150mm is expected at some places.

Strong windy conditions over the country and in the sea areas around the island will continue during next few days due to meeting of wind feeding to the system.

Furthermore, showers or thunder showers will occur at times in North-Western, Western, Central and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in the Galle, Matara and Mannar districts.

Showers or thunder showers will occur at several places in the Anuradhapura and Hambanthota districts.

Facebook safety check for Sri Lankan flood victims

With severe floods and landslide being reported from all parts of the island, many families and relatives are left wondering if their loved ones have reached a safe area or have been left stranded somewhere needing assistance.

The rapid floods and landslide have not only taken over 37 lives as of now, it has left thousands homeless needing assistance. The property damage is not limited to houses but has severely affected infrastructure such as roads and bridges. The power lines have been also affected disrupting essential services during this calamity period.

Modes of communication has been also severely affected due to lack of electricity in some areas as well as due to damage caused to the communication infrastructure.

Now Sri Lankans with a Facebook account are given the opportunity to mark yourself or someone you know as safe. This allows those searching for a person through Facebook to have an idea, if a person has reached safety or not.

Facebook allows users to; “Let your friends know you're OK by marking yourself safe.”  As well as  “Check on Friends Quickly find and connect with friends in the area. Mark them safe if you know they're OK.”

Facebook has used this safety check feature earlier in disaster situations to assist friends and families know if their loved ones have reached safety. This feature has been used during the recent Nepal earthquakes, the Paris attack, the Brussels attack, and last year during the South Indian floods.

EgyptAir flight carrying 69 goes missing

EgyptAir flight MS804 heading from Paris to Cairo has gone missing. 

The Airbus A320 left the French capital's Charles De Gaulle at 11:09pm local time on Wednesday night and then disappeared off radar shortly before it was due to land in Egypt. It was supposed to arrive at 3:05am local time. 

There were 59 passengers and 10 crew on board. The airline tweeted: 'An informed source at EGYPTAIR stated that Flight no MS804,which departed Paris at 23:09 (CEST),heading to Cairo has disappeared from radar.' 

They added that the plane disappeared 80miles (10 minutes) before it was set to enter Egyptian airspace at 37,000ft. They said it was fading when air traffic control lost contact with the plane at 02:45 Cairo time, 15 minutes before it was set to land. EgyptAir said they have sent out search and rescue teams. (Daily Mail) 

Water level in Kelani river on the rise

The Disaster Management Centre today advised those in the low bank areas of the Kelani River to be vigilant due to the rapidly rising water levels of the river. It was reported that the water level of the Kelani River has increased by 7 meters during the last few days.

 Further, residents of Wellampitiya, Kolonnawa, Kotikawatta, and surrounding areas are requested to move to safer locations due to the rising water levels, in the area. 

The Kelani River reached the spill level by last evening, resulting in the flooding of low lying areas. The areas that are inundated are Kelaniya, Talwatte, Nagahamula, Kunukade Junction, Welekade, Pattiwila, Kohilawatte and Henawatte.

Our correspondents reported that the water level in the Kelani River is continuously rising.

Initiatives have already been taken to direct the affected families to secure places. The correspondents said that they were being evacuated with the help of boats.

14 bodies recovered from Aranayaka landslide

Thirteen bodies have been recovered from the Aranayaka landslide site earlier this morning, while three bodies have been recovered from the Aranayaka landslide site. 

The police, army and other disaster relief units are currently conducting rescue and disaster relief operations in the landslide affected areas.

Over 300 persons have been severely affected while large-scale property damage is reported due to the landslide and flood situations in the Aranayakaa and Aranayaka areas.

16 missing Due to landslide in Kegalle

A landslide had been reported in Kalupahanawatta in Bulathkohupitiya.

According to the Deputy director of the Disaster Management Center , Pradeep Kodippilli, the landslide had ocurred last night and several housed have been damaged.

It was further reported that 16 individuals are missing follwing the landslide in the area in question

Massive Landside Reported in Aranayaka

The Siripura, Pallebage and Elagipitya villages in the Aranayake Divisional Secretariat area have been ravaged by a landslide. DIG Rohan Dias noted that around 80% who were affected by the landslide have been rescued.

He also ntoed around 150 people have been affected by the landslide.Furthermore, he noted that rescue workers are closing in on the location.