By Sarah Hannan The amount of people affected by the ongoing drought has now reduced to 634,081 in 16 districts as of Friday (18), while the amount of persons affected by the inclement weather conditions has increased to 5,701 in 10 districts. The highest number of people affected by thundershowers and heavy winds were reported from the North Western Province where 3,835 persons from 1,080 families were affected by heavy rain, high wind, lightning, and floods. 521 persons from 126 families were moved to five safe locations owing to floods, fire, and lightning damages. Ten persons sustained injuries and five deaths were reported. Overall, 671 houses were partially damaged and 26 houses were fully damaged. Meanwhile, the Meteorology Department forecast indicates that thundershowers could be expected throughout the day (today) in several parts of the island with showers or thundershowers intensifying after 2 p.m. in most parts of the island. Due to high wind and heavy rain, 43 commercial properties were reported damaged in the Kandy, Kegalle, Kurunegala, and Puttalam Districts, while nine critical infrastructures were damaged in the Kurunegala and Jaffna Districts. A tornado was reported in Jaffna on Wednesday (16), while several areas in the Puttalam District too were inundated due to heavy rains. The Colombo-Avissawella road at the Aswatte Junction was inundated following heavy rains on Friday (18) evening. Precautionary measures “Severe lightning is most likely to occur in most parts in the evening hours and with several lightning-related deaths and injuries being reported over the past weeks, we urge the public to take precautionary measures to minimise damage caused by lightning to persons and property,” Meteorology Department Director A.R. Warnasooriya stated. The Meteorology Department advised that people should seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees; avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations, and open water bodies during thunderstorms; avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms; avoid using open vehicles such as bicycles, tractors, boats, etc.; beware of fallen trees and power lines, and for emergency assistance, contact the local disaster management authorities. The marine weather forecast for today (20) indicates showers or thundershowers at several places in the sea areas extending from Kankasanthurai to Galle via Puttalam, during the evening or night. Showers will occur at a few places in other sea areas around the island, with winds variable in direction and speed, between 10-30 kmph, in the sea areas around the island. Unfavourable weather Throughout the past week, fishermen were warned about rough seas and to avoid seafaring. Reports emerged from the Ampara District where the fishermen had reported a drop in their catch due to change of tides. Our regional correspondent from Ampara, S. Farook reported that the weather change severely affected the livelihoods of the fishing families in the District, stating: “Due to the change in the speed of the current, the nets are pulled in a different direction. This has affected coastal fishermen. People who rely on fisheries are now worried that they have to return empty-handed to their families after spending the entire day at sea, costing them thousands of rupees.” Landslide watch activated Landslide warnings were also issued by the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) to the Badulla, Kandy, Ratnapura, and Kegalle Districts with the alert level for Badulla set at Level 2 and the other districts set at Level 1. The general public was requested to be vigilant over pre-landslide signs such as cracks on the ground, deepened cracks, and ground subsidence; slanting of trees, electrical posts, fences, and telephone posts; cracks in the floors and walls of buildings which are built on slopes; sudden appearance of springs, emerging muddy water, blockage, or disappearance of existing springs. The general public was also warned to immediately move away from any areas where they notice these pre-landslide signs, be extra vigilant if they lived in landslide susceptible areas, and be ready to move quickly to safe places if heavy rain continues. Furthermore, the NBRO warned communities to follow the instructions given by them and the Disaster Management Centre during adverse weather conditions.