Speaking to the Daily News, Military Spokesman Brigadier Sumith Atapattu said 32 Army personnel and four boats had been deployed in the Ratnapura area to assist those affected by the bad weather. In Kalutara, around 40 Army personnel have been deployed to the Palindanuwara area while around 20 Army personnel have been deployed for relief operations in the Bulathsinhala area.

He said around 21 families in these areas displaced due to floods have been housed at a community centre. Army personnel had been pre-deployed in flood prone areas in preparation for any contingency.According to the Military Spokesman, in the Galle district, two boats each had been deployed in the Pitigala, Neluwa, Thawalama and Hiniduma areas together with six boat operators and around 25 soldiers.

In the Matara district, around 20 soldiers and four boats each have been deployed to assist the flood victims in Morawaka and Kamburupitiya. He noted that troops will also be on standby at the Security Force Headquarters in all areas in preparation to respond to any emergency situation.

Meanwhile, Air Force Spokesman Group Captain Gihan Seneviratne said the Air Force has been on standby from last Sunday to render assistance if required. He said teams were on standby at every station and aircraft were also on standby and prepared to respond if they are called upon to assist in flood relief operations. Further, the Sri Lanka Navy has deployed 27 rescue teams to assist in flood affected areas in five districts including Galle, Kalutara, Ratnapura, Kurunegala and Puttalam. “Each team has been provided a dingie boat to assist in their relief operations. These navy teams had been deployed to the flood prone areas identified by the Disaster Management Centre in advance, and were on standby to respond to flood assistance needs,” Navy Spokesman Commander Dinesh Bandara said.