There is an increase of dengue cases with the South-West Monsoonal rains, Disaster Management Centre (DMC) Director General, Major General (Retired) Sudantha Ranasinghe said.
Addressing a press conference at the Government Information Department yesterday, he requested for public support to control the spread of Dengue by destroying mosquito breeding places.
The National Dengue Control Unit of the Health Ministry said that 24,523 suspected Dengue cases have been reported in the country so far this year, and out of them 6,483 cases were reported in May. The number of suspected Dengue cases reported on June 1 stood at 313.
The Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara Districts have been identified as high risk areas, while a considerable spread of Dengue is also reported in the Kandy, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Kegalle and Ratnapura Districts. The National Dengue Control Unit said the Dengue cases were gradually increasing over the last three months and this number could further increase in the coming weeks.
Irrigation Department Director (Hydrology) S. P. C. Sugeeshwara said minor floods in areas surrounding Kalu Ganga, Nilwala Ganga, Gin Ganga, Attanagalu Oya and Kelani Ganga were receding. DMC DG Major General (Retired) Ranasinghe said that some areas in Galle, Matara, low-lying areas in Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara and Ratnapura were still under water but the water levels were going down. He said 43 Divisional Secretariat Divisions in seven districts were affected by the heavy rains in the last few days.
A relief officer attached to the DMC had died, while 690 people belonging to 192 families are in 10 safety centres set up by the DMC. Another 2,433 people belonging to 647 families are with their friends or relatives. A total of 22, 338 people belonging to 5,357 families have been affected by the inclement weather. Minor or partial damages had occurred to 174 houses.
He said troops of the Tri-Forces were still deployed in the affected areas, and 12 Navy boats and teams have also been deployed in addition to boats of the DMC and the District Secretariat Offices.
National Building Research Organization (NBRO) Director General Dr. Asiri Karunanawardena said that 130 cutting failures were reported in the Galle, Matara, Ratnapura and Nuwara Eliya Districts since the onset of the South-West Monsoon. He urged the people to immediately evacuate when Red Notices are issued by the Organization.Meteorology Department Director General Athula Karunanayake said less intense rainfall would continue till June 6.
Add new comment