The people who were evacuated from the village areas in Ampara who faced the risk of going under water due to the possibility of the Gal Oya riverbank collapsing have been returned back to their homes yesterday (15) after the disaster condition ceased.
Due to the risk involved in the Gal Oya riverbank collapsing in the Kotawehera area of Ampara, 135 people belonging to 44 families were previously evacuated from the area. With the current rainy weather conditions, the Senanayake Samudraya in Ampara is approaching the spill level and upon reaching spill level, its water will be released into the Gal Oya.
The Senanayake Samudraya which has a capacity of 770,000 acre feet will begin to overflow if its maximum water capacity reaches 110 feet. Since the water level was 103 feet high as of yesterday morning and due to the continued rain, steps had been taken to slightly open the two sluice gates of the Senanayake Samudraya. However, if the sluice gates of the Senanayake Samudraya are fully opened or overflows due to continued rain, the water capacity of the Gal Oya to which the water is released will increase.
A group of residents from the Suduwella, Samapura and Senanayakapura villages in Ampara were evacuated from the area to safer places due to the risk of the Gal Oya riverbanks collapsing as a result of landslides from the ongoing heavy rains experienced that has also increased the water level to spill level of the Gal Oya River.
Steps have been taken by the Irrigation Department to remove the sand collected in the Kotawehera area in Ampara which causes the risk of the Gal Oya riverbanks collapsing due to severe erosion. Besides the risk to the surrounding villages, the Hardy Higher Education Institution located next to the Gal Oya riverbanks is also under threat of going under water from flooding if the Gal Oya riverbank collapses due to the ongoing heavy rains.
Meanwhile, the Irrigation Department further stated that 45 out of the 73 major reservoirs in the country have reached the spill levels.
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