Red alert issued for 14 districts over severe lightning: Met Dept.

A Red alert on thundershowers accompanied by severe lightning has been issued for 14 districts, the Department of Meteorology said today.

They said fairly heavy rainfalls about 100 mm can be expected in  Sabaragamuwa,  Central,  North-western and  Western  provinces  and  in  Galle,  Matara  and  Polonnaruwa  districts.

Accordingly, the 14 districts including Mannar, Puttlam, kurunegala, Matale, Kandy, Gampaha, Kegalle, Nuwaea-Eliya, Badulla, Colombo, Kalutara, Ratnapura, Galle and Matarahave 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, the Met. Dept said.  (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)