More than 500,000 people affected by drought

More than 580,717 people belonging to 152,953 families in 21 districts have been affected by the drought, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said today.

The affected districts are Kegalle, Ratnapura, Puttalam, Kurunegala, Vavuniya, Jaffna, Mannar, Kilinochchi, Mullaitheevu, Matale, Kandy, Matara, Hambantota, Galle, Gampaha, Kalutara, Polonnaruwa, Trincomalee and Moneragala.

DMC said water is being distributed to affected areas.

Temperatures continued to rise, as it exceeded 35C degrees in several parts of the country including Vavuniya, Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura.

However, the Met Dept. forecast heavy showers more than 100mm during the coming days in Sabaragamuwa, Central, Southern, Uva, Western, North Central and North Western provinces.

The Department also warned of rough seas and squalls up to 80 km/h in the coastal areas from Galle to Mannar. (Yohan Perera)