Minister of State for Defense Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon disclosed in Parliament that the number of people who died due to bad weather in Sri Lanka has risen to 26.
The Minister of State informed the House about the current situation: 130,021 people in 33,422 families are affected due to the bad weather conditions.
“So far, 26 deaths and 41 injuries have been reported due to bad weather. In addition, 9,248 people from 2,368 families are detained in 116 shelters.
The Minister of State rejected the accusations made by the MPs for not predicting that there are preparations for floods before the monsoon season and emphasized that preparations were being made at the community level with the participation of village committees for several weeks.
Responding to criticism of the meteorological department’s ability to accurately forecast the weather, Minister of State Thennakone admitted that Sri Lanka’s technological capabilities are 10 to 15 years behind.
“I admit that we are technologically backward. However, despite the economic hardships of the past few years, a project to improve the technical capabilities of the Meteorological Department has not been neglected,” he added.
Meanwhile, he said that the Cabinet approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to provide relief to those affected by the bad weather.
Answering the questions asked by opposition leader Sajith Premadasa regarding the increase in food allowance for the victims, the state minister confirmed that the government has already obtained the necessary approval for this.