17 DEAD AND 15 MORE MISSING IN THE WORST HIT LANDSLIDES
AROUND NUWARAELIYA WHERE MANY HOUSES STILL BURIED

By Walter Jayawardhana

Helicopters of the Sri Lanka Air Force were used to evacuate the injured as some of the worst landslides in recent history amidst torrential rains hit the island nations tea producing hill country killing 17 dead and 15 more missing where dozens of houses have disappeared under mammoth mudslides.

Some of the worst hit areas are Nuwaraeliya, Walapane, Diyanilla, Mathurata ,Rikillagaskada ,Ragala,Thibbatuwaya, Mahawewa, Udapussellawa and Mathurata areas.

The Sri Lanka Army said Air Force helicopters, BELL 212s and MI 17s and over 100 Army soldiers were sent to the areas affected by torrential rains and landslides. The Sri Lanka Army's Kandy area HQ has established a special operations room at Hanguranketha to coordinate rescue efforts.

The army said the torrential rains triggered landslides have affected at least 1600 homes in about 15 villages around the mountainous health resort of Nuwara Eliya which is situated amidst some of the island nations scenic tea gardens.

In this part of the country known basically as “patna land” a not very deep layer of earth on granite rocks slips when rain water seeps between the earth and the rocks making the fatal land slides destroying all structures on the surface.

When that happens the mud and huge boulders start falling down the slopes also burying everything on its way like houses and their people. Although such places were known the roads have been blocked making the rescue parties to reach troubled spots. Sometimes, the helicopters were unable to land to evacuate the injured in thick mist and torrential rains or due to the difficulty of finding a suitable place to land.

In Padiyapelella , the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation reported , nearly thousand villagers, mostly rice farmers , took shelter in the local school when their homes were facing a possible threat of landslides. Later on Saturday, they started trekking along slippery mountainous footpaths , to reach more safer places , sometimes carrying more feeble men and and women like old parents.
Military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said, already dozens of people who were injured have been evacuated by the military helicopters.

Kumari Weerasinghe of the ,National Building Research Organization said, experts have been sent to the area to advise which area residents should be evacuated to protect them from landslides.
In addition to the landslides toreential rains in lower lands also destroyed rice crops and made thousands of families to leave their homes , other reports said.

Some of the worst hit areas have been Hambantota and Ampara areas. In Ampara 8400 families , at Hambantota 4000 families and at Panama 1500 families are homeless due to floods, the government said.Altogether in Sri Lanka about 60,000 people are displace due to floods the sources said.