Red alert for 10 districts over severe lightning: Met Dept.

A Red alert on thundershowers accompanied by severe lightning was issued for 10 districts, the Department of Meteorology said today.

They said fairly heavy rainfall of more than 75 mm could be expected at some places in Central, Sabaragamuwa and Western provinces and in Galle, Matara and Kurunegala districts.

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

Accordingly, 10 districts including Kurunegala, Kandy, Gampaha, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya, Colombo, Kalutara, Ratnapura, Galle and Matara have been alerted over the weather conditions.

The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize 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. Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms. Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats. Beware of fallen trees and power lines. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)