Sri Lanka: Several dead as storm causes floods, landslides
November 28, 2024
A depression in the south-west part of the Bay of Bengal has caused heavy rains while cyclone conditions were developing off Sri Lanka's north-eastern coast. The storm is now moving toward India.
Experts have blamed the increasing frequency and severity of floods on climate changeImage: Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo/picture alliance
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At least 12 people have been killed due to flooding and landslides in Sri Lanka, authorities said on Thursday.
Rescue teams said they had recovered the bodies of four children who were swept away by the floodwaters while they were riding on a tractor in the town of Eravur on the east coast.
Others remain missing after torrential rains, flash floods and landslides caused devastation in eastern and central parts of the South Asian country.
The powerful but slow-moving storm, which is now heading toward India, has forced more than 250,000 people in Sri Lanka to flee their homes, according to the island nation's Disaster Management Center.
Storm to reach India by Saturday
The India Meteorological Department said there was a "possibility" that the "deep depression" over the southwest Bay of Bengal could develop into a cyclonic storm.
India meteorologists said the storm was expected to hit the southern state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry on Saturday with winds "gusting up to 70 km/h (43 mph)."
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government has asked the army to help in relief operations.
Officials said search teams were still looking for two missing children and two men, who were also swept away by flash floods while on tractor and trailer.
Deadly floods and landslides are common across South Asia, but experts say climate change is causing the extreme weather to be more frequent as well as more severe.
Climate change ravages Sri Lanka's shores
Tens of millions of people in South Asia, one of the most densely populated regions in the world, live near the coast, making them very vulnerable to extreme weather events.
Dilrukshan Kumara looks at the ocean while sitting amid the remains of his family house, which has been destroyed by erosion, in Iranawila, Sri Lanka. Coastal erosion has long been a problem in Sri Lanka.
Studies show that the short-term erosion rate on Sri Lanka's western coast varies from 0-3 meters (0-9.8 feet) per year. Yet this figure may increase significantly by 2050, reaching up to 4-11 m per year, with an average of 7 m per year. In 2100, estimated erosion will be from 10-34 m per year, at an average of 17-24 m per year.
"One night last month, my son went to the bathroom, and I suddenly heard him screaming, ‘Our house has gone into the sea!'" said Fernando, a 58-year-old fisher born and raised in Iranawila, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital, Colombo.
Villagers salvage reusable rafters from the wreck of their home, destroyed by erosion. According to the IPCC, the risk related to sea level rise is expected to significantly increase by the end of this century along all low-lying coasts if major additional adaptation efforts are not undertaken.
"I saw parts of my house were already eaten up by the sea, and my son coming out of the water, carrying our commode. Our house's foundations were completely washed out and we were forced to shift further inland," Fernando says. His former home on Sri Lanka's coast is now no more than a shell, with the rest lost to the sea.
Waves lap against a barrier, causing slow erosion. Locals say more frequent severe weather and an ongoing sea reclamation project not far from Iranawila are the main reasons for the increased erosion that is leading to so much destruction. They say that the sea shore has moved in a few hundred meters in the last three years.
Jassintha, the wife of Ranjith Sunimal Fernando, sits in their temporary dwelling in Iranawila. Sri Lanka has 1,620 km (1,007 miles) of coastline, with abundant natural resources supporting millions of livelihoods.
Iranwila is not the only place to suffer coastal erosion in Sri Lanka — there are hundreds of other fishing hamlets in the region in the same situation. "I don't know what will happen in the future but I still keep my faith," a fisherman says.
Approximately 11.3 million people live in coastal districts of Sri Lanka. Owing to its abundant natural resources and the social and economic benefits they bring, the coastal zone has experienced immense development and urbanization over the decades.
Villagers wade in the sea to collect stones washed out from the land by coastal erosion. The present effects of erosion are devastating in Iranawila. But the future for the whole region could be much worse still.
