COLOMBO, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Meteorology Department, on Thursday issued a further warning of heavy rains and strong winds in the coming days and urged people to remain cautious.
In its latest weather update, the Meteorology Department said winds speeds were expected to increase up to 60 km per hour over the island country while seas extending from the north to east and south were expected to be very rough.
The National Building Research Organization (NBRO), earlier on Thursday issued a landslide warning for several areas in the central hills of Nuwera Eliya with the threat of further continuous rains.
The NBRO has suggested immediate evacuation of residents in the area if rains continue in the next 24 hours.
"Special attention should be paid to human made cut slopes and roads because they are the locations most prone to landslides, slope failures, rock falls and cutting failures," the NBRO said.
The Disaster Management Center (DMC) advised people to evacuate to safer areas if they notice pre-landslide warnings.
Over 1700 houses have already been damaged from days of adverse weather across the country, the DMC said.
The highest number of houses damaged was from the central highlands of Nuwera Eliya district.
