Sri Lanka, formerly called "Ceylon", is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, southeast of the Indian subcontinent, in a strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes. The nation has a total area of 65,610 square kilometres (25,330 sq mi), with 64,630 square kilometres (24,950 sq mi) of land and 980 square kilometres (380 sq mi) of water. Its coastline is 1,340 kilometres (830 mi) long. The main island of Sri Lanka has an area of 65,268 km2; it is the twenty-fifth largest island in the world by area. Dozens of offshore islands account for the remaining 342 km2 area. The largest offshore island, Mannar Island, leads to Adam's Bridge.
The 2005 North Indian Ocean cyclone season caused much devastation and many deaths in Southern India despite the storms’ weakness. The basin covers the Indian Ocean north of the equator as well as inland areas, sub-divided by the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Although the season began early with two systems in January, the bulk of activity was confined from September to December. The official India Meteorological Department tracked 12 depressions in the basin, and the unofficial Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) monitored two additional storms. Three systems intensified into a cyclonic storm, which have sustained winds of at least 63 km/h (39 mph), at which point the IMD named them.
Dullas Daham Kumara Alahapperuma is a Sri Lankan politician and founder and current leader of the Freedom People's Congress. Alahapperuma is also a former Cabinet Minister of Information and Mass Media and a current Member of Parliament from the Matara District.
Kalu Ganga is a river in Sri Lanka. Measuring 129 km (80 mi) in length, the river originates from Sri Padhaya and reach the sea at Kalutara. The Black River flows through the Ratnapura and the Kalutara District and pass the city Ratnapura. The mountainous forests in the Central Province and the Sinharaja Forest Reserve are the main sources of water for the river. The Edwardian manor, Richmond Castle is on the banks of the river near Kalutara.
In May 2003, a tropical cyclone officially called Very Severe Cyclonic Storm BOB 01 produced the worst flooding in Sri Lanka in 56 years. The first storm of the 2003 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, it developed over the Bay of Bengal on May 10. Favorable environmental conditions allowed the system to intensify steadily while moving northwestward. The storm reached peak maximum sustained winds of 140 km/h (85 mph) on May 13, making it a very severe cyclonic storm according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), which is the official Regional Specialized Meteorological Center for the basin. The cyclone drifted north over the central Bay of Bengal, gradually weakening due to heightened wind shear. Turning eastward, the storm deteriorated to a deep depression on May 16 before it curved northeastward and re-intensified into a cyclonic storm. It came ashore in western Myanmar and dissipated over land the following day.
Beginning on 14 December 2014, a series of floods from the northeast monsoon hit Indonesia, West Malaysia, Southern Thailand, and later Sri Lanka in South Asia. More than 100,000 people have been evacuated in Indonesia, 200,000 in Malaysia, and several thousand in Thailand. Floods are also affecting 1,100,000 in Sri Lanka.
Beginning on 14 May 2016, a low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal caused torrential rain to fall across Sri Lanka, causing floods and landslides which affected half a million people. As of 25 May 2016 the death toll was 101 with 100 missing.
The 2017 Sri Lanka floods resulted from a heavy southwest monsoon, beginning around 18 to 19 May 2017. Flooding was worsened by the arrival of the precursor system to Cyclone Mora, causing flooding and landslides throughout Sri Lanka during the final week of May 2017. The floods affected 15 districts, killed at least 208 people and left a further 78 people missing. As of 3 June, 698,289 people were affected, while 11,056 houses were partially damaged and another 2,093 houses completely destroyed. According to Al Jazeera, about 600,000 people have been displaced due to the floods.
Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Ockhi was a strong tropical cyclone that devastated parts of Sri Lanka and India in 2017, and was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Arabian Sea since Cyclone Megh in 2015. The ninth depression, and the third and strongest named storm of the 2017 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Ockhi originated from an area of low pressure that formed over the southwest Bay of Bengal on November 28. The storm organized into a Depression off southeast coast of Sri Lanka on November 29, causing damage to property and life in Sri Lanka while passing by. Due to high atmospheric moisture and warmer oceanic surface temperature between Sri Lanka and Kanyakumari in mainland India, Ockhi intensified into a cyclonic storm on November 30.
Events in the year 2018 in Sri Lanka.
2018 Sri Lanka floods and landslides caused from an annual heavy southwest monsoon beginning around 19 May. As of 26 May 2018; the monsoon floods affected in about 19 districts, killed at least 21 people, about 150, 000 people were affected and further left approximately 23 people missing. The death casualties were reported from 22 May onwards in the provinces including South, Northwest, North and East. About 4 people were reported dead due to lightning, 5 people were killed due to floods and lightning, 8 people died due to drowning and further left 4 people dead resulting from fallen trees. The DMC report claimed about 400, 000 people have been displaced to safer locations. About 105 houses were reported to have fully damaged and over 4832 houses have been partially damaged.
2018 Northern Province floods in Sri Lanka caused from heavy rainfall in five main districts of Northern Province including Jaffna, Mannar, Mullaithivu, Vavuniya and Kilinochchi beginning around 22 December 2018 on a full moon Poya Day. As of 22 December according to Disaster Management Centre (DMC), more than 45000 people from mere nearly 14000 families were reported to have been affected. According to the reports two casualties have been reported so far due to the flash floods. The floods receded in all 5 main districts of the Northern Province with significant damages to agricultural crops.
This page lists notable events that took place in the year 2019 in Sri Lanka. This year marks the fewest non-working holidays in the country as most of the public holidays fall on weekends.
Presidential elections were held in Sri Lanka on 16 November 2019. The incumbent President Maithripala Sirisena's term of office would have ended on 9 January 2020. This was the first presidential election in Sri Lanka where no sitting president, prime minister or opposition leader ran for president. Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the election in a landslide victory, defeating his main opponent Sajith Premadasa.
The 2019 Sri Lanka electricity crisis was a crisis which happened nearly a month from 18 March to 10 April 2019 faced by Sri Lanka caused by a severe drought that depleted water levels at hydroelectric plants. Sri Lanka experienced rolling blackouts for three to five hours per day except on Sundays in all parts of the island nation at different time schedules that started from 24 March 2019 to present. This is regarded as one of the worst blackouts confronted in Sri Lanka since 2016 and the longest ever blackout recorded in history of the country. However it was revealed that the main electricity providing institution Ceylon Electricity Board had restricted the power supply to almost all regions of the country without proper prior notice and implemented a time schedule unofficially from 24 March 2019. However the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy revealed that it didn't grant and approve permission to CEB to impose power cuts.
In mid-March 2019, monsoonal downpours caused widespread flooding and landslides across South Asia.
The 2021 floods and landslides in Sri Lanka are flash floods and mudslides which were caused from heavy torrential rainfalls during May and June 2021. As of 7 June 2021; the monsoon floods affected in about 10 districts, killing at least 17 persons including about 10 because of floods and 4 people because of mudslides. About 245,000 people were affected living in Colombo, Puttalam, Kandy, Kalutara, Kurunegala, Gampaha, Nuwara Eliya, Ratnapura and Galle. More than 800 houses were reported to have been damaged.
From January to October 2022, excessive rainfall and widespread monsoon flooding occurred in the South Asian countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It has become the region's deadliest floods since 2020, with over 3,700 people dead.
