• Over 5,000 people affected across several districts

Showers and strong winds are expected to continue across several parts of the country over the next 36 hours, according to the Department of Meteorology.

Showers or thunderstorms will occur at times, with cloudy skies expected over the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-Western and Northern Provinces and in the Galle and Matara Districts.

Fairly heavy rainfall above 50 mm is likely at some places in the Western and Sabaragamuwa Provinces and in the Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya Districts.

Several spells of showers are also expected in the Anuradhapura District, while showers or thunderstorms may occur at a few places in the Uva and Eastern Provinces after 1 p.m. today (17).

Fairly strong winds of around 30-40 kmph can be expected at times over the western slopes of the central hills and in the Northern, North-Central and North-Western Provinces and Hambantota District.

The Department requested the public to take adequate precautions to minimise damage caused by temporary localised strong winds and lightning during thunderstorms.

Meanwhile, as of 10 a.m. yesterday, 5,242 persons belonging to 1,574 families had been affected by adverse weather conditions reported from several districts.

The affected districts include Ratnapura, Galle, Hambantota, Monaragala, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Kalutara, Colombo, Gampaha, Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Mannar.

Affected families had faced incidents including flooding, tree falls, strong winds, landslide risks and lightning-related damage.

The Department of Meteorology also noted that the low-pressure area located north of Sri Lanka had weakened and that its influence over the Bay of Bengal and surrounding sea areas was gradually decreasing.