Red alert issued for 17 districts over severe lightning: Met Dept.

A Red alert on thundershowers accompanied by severe lightning has been issued for 17 districts, the Department of Meteorology said today.

They said fairly heavy rainfall of more than 75mm could be expected in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, Southern and Uva provinces and most parts of the island during the evening or night.There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers, they said.A

Accordingly, the 17 districts including Trincomalee, Polonnaruwa, Matale, Batticaloa, Kandy, Ampara, Gampaha, Kegalle, Nuwara-Eliya, Badulla, Colombo, Kalutara, Ratnapura, Monaragala, Galle, Matara and Hambantota have 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)