Sri Lanka's Parliament Under Threat of Flooding

 With the prevailing heavy rainfall, the water level of the Diyawanna Oya is rapidly rising, posing a severe risk of the Sri Jayawardenepura Parliamentary complex being submerged. According to internal parliamentary sources, only a small margin of one or two feet remains before water flows into the main building premises.

Paying special attention to this emergency disaster situation, the staff, under the instructions of authorities, has taken steps to safely move goods and items stored on the lower floor of the Parliament to the upper floor.

Especially, given the high probability that the committee rooms located on the lowest level of the complex would be the first to be submerged if flooding occurs, materials including books and furniture from those rooms have been removed.

Preparations are also underway to place protective sandbags and barriers to prevent water from seeping into the building complex. Furthermore, a special team from the Sri Lanka Navy has reportedly been deployed to the premises to constantly monitor changes in the Diyawanna Oya's water level.

According to the Department of Irrigation, it is a normal occurrence for the Diyawanna Oya to fill up very quickly during rainy weather conditions due to water flowing downstream from upper catchment areas.