UNP demands explanation for failure to prepare for Colombo floods

The sudden flooding in Colombo on Friday evening shows the government failed to prepare for natural disasters, the United National Party (UNP) said. The party also demanded that the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) explain its failure to prevent the flooding.

In a statement issued on Saturday (the 7th), the UNP pointed out that local and international meteorological departments had repeatedly warned of above-average rain in this year's monsoon season, a situation caused by the El Nino effect. Yet officials once again failed to face the emergency, the party said.

The flood not only inconvenienced the people of Colombo but also left many motorists in life-threatening situations, the UNP said. Failure to maintain the drains and canals across the city was a major cause of the flooding, it noted, and said maintaining the urban drainage system is a key responsibility of the CMC, demanding an immediate explanation from the mayor and the council.

The party also recalled that the Metro Colombo Urban Development Project, begun in 2018 under the UNP government, included a 104-million-dollar flood control scheme with World Bank funding. It could not be completed because of the 2022 economic crisis, the party said, urging the government to give the scheme immediate priority to reduce future flood risk.