Red alert for nine districts over severe lightning: Met Dept.

By Chaturanga Samarawickrama  

A red alert on thundershowers accompanied by severe lightning was issued for nine districts, the Department of Meteorology said yesterday.  

They said fairly heavy rainfall of more than 75 mm could be expected at some places in the Eastern, Central and Uva Provinces and in Polonnaruwa and Mullaitivu Districts.  

There may be temporary localised strong winds during thundershowers, they said.  

Accordingly, the nine districts including Mullaitivu, Vavuniya, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Matale, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Badulla and Moneragala have been alerted over the weather conditions.  

The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimise the damage caused by lightning activity.  

The Meteorology Department advised people to seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees. They also advised avoiding open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations, playgrounds and open water bodies during thunderstorms. The use of wired telephones, connected electric appliances, open vehicles such as bicycles, tractors and boats during thunderstorms is also advised to be avoided. The Department requests to beware of fallen trees and power lines. 

• The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimise the damage caused by lightning activity 
• The Meteorology Department advised people to seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees