By NNN-Bernama,
Colombo : Over 15,000 people were hit by flash floods in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on Thursday as the city experienced its worst rainfall for 18 years, reports China’s Xinhua news agency.
Some 440 millimetres of rain lashed the capital since Wednesday night, leaving most parts of the city under floods.
“The rains were caused by the winds of northern and southern hemisphere converging at the inter-tropical convergence zone. 440mm of rain was the highest since the 493.2mm recorded on June 4, 1992”, Chaminda de Silva, a meteorological official said.
Wimal Weerawansa, the minister of urban development, said arrangements have been made to provide foods for the 15,000 marooned by floods in the city.
Meanwhile the island’s parliament was submerged as the Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa visited it travelling by a Sri Lankan Navy boat.
Parliamentary reporters were taken on board a Sri Lankan military armored personnel carrier as the access road remained several feet under water.
Political party leaders met to discuss the flood situation and the cancellation of the day’s sittings.
Schools were shut and some parts of the city were deprived of electricity as power stations went under water. The train services became crippled.