Five Divisional Secretariat divisions have been added to Sri Lanka’s latest landslide warning.
One more area has been moved to a higher alert level.
The update tells us more than the usual list of districts.
It shows that the danger is spreading through already wet ground even while the country’s monitored major rivers remain at normal levels.
The latest warning was issued at 4.00 p.m. on October 4 and remains valid until 4.00 p.m. on October 5.
It covers 13 Divisional Secretariat divisions across Badulla, Kandy, Kegalle, Matale and Ratnapura.
There are no Level 3 Red evacuation warnings in the latest notice.
Five Areas Were Added in the Latest Update
NBRO marks newly added areas in its warning notice.
The latest update added Passara in Badulla, Udapalatha in Kandy, Bulathkohupitiya in Kegalle, and Weligepola and Ayagama in Ratnapura.
Rattota in Matale was already in the warning area.
Its status moved upward.
Rattota is now at Amber together with Ambanganga Korale and Matale.
Seven Areas Are Now at Amber
| District | Level 2 Amber | Level 1 Yellow |
|---|---|---|
| Badulla | Passara | None |
| Kandy | Minipe, Ududumbara | Udapalatha |
| Kegalle | Dehiowita | Bulathkohupitiya, Rambukkana |
| Matale | Ambanganga Korale, Matale, Rattota | None |
| Ratnapura | None | Eheliyagoda, Weligepola, Ayagama |
Amber is not an evacuation order.
NBRO describes Level 2 as an alert stage where people in susceptible areas should be prepared to move if conditions worsen.
Its published criteria normally associate Level 1 with rainfall above 75 mm during 24 hours and Level 2 with rainfall above 100 mm.
Level 3 is the evacuation stage and is normally linked to rainfall above 150 mm during 24 hours.
The Rainfall Number Is Only Part of the Warning
NBRO also considers how much water has accumulated inside the soil.
Heavy rain enters cracks and spaces in the ground.
That water can remain after rainfall becomes lighter.
NBRO says warnings can stay active even when current rainfall has reduced because saturated soil can continue carrying landslide risk.
Why Normal Rivers Do Not Mean Safe Hillsides
The Irrigation Department’s report at 9.30 a.m. on October 4 listed monitored stations across the country’s major river basins at normal levels.
There was no general major river flood signal in that report.
Yet some rainfall stations had already recorded heavy totals.
Glencourse recorded 113.4 mm during the preceding 24 hours.
Bowatenna recorded 109.2 mm.
Both figures are above the 100 mm rainfall level used in NBRO’s published Level 2 criteria.
More Rain Is Possible Today
The Department of Meteorology expects showers or thundershowers at several places over most parts of the island after 1.00 p.m.
Rainfall above 75 mm may occur in parts of the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, Uva, North Western, Southern and North Central provinces.
Every district currently carrying a landslide warning sits inside one of those forecast provinces.
Badulla is in Uva.
Kandy and Matale are in Central Province.
Kegalle and Ratnapura are in Sabaragamuwa.
Fresh rainfall is therefore possible across the same broad areas where NBRO is already monitoring wet slopes.
Four Warning Districts Were Already Hit by Recent Weather
The Disaster Management Centre’s latest situation report records earlier impacts from heavy rain, flooding, high winds, slope failures, landslides and fallen trees.
Four of the five districts now under landslide warning appear in that report.
| District | People affected | Families affected | Homes partly damaged |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kandy | 1,200 | 333 | 82 |
| Ratnapura | 694 | 188 | 65 |
| Kegalle | 238 | 63 | 41 |
| Matale | 41 | 13 | 13 |
Together, those four districts recorded 2,173 affected people from 597 families and 201 partially damaged homes.
Those figures cover several forms of bad weather.
They should not be presented as landslide damage alone.
This Is Not the First Warning Cycle of 2026
The DMC public archive shows landslide warning bulletins or updates during January, February, April, May, June, August, September and October this year.
That is eight different months by early October.
Some warning periods generated several updates as rainfall and ground conditions changed.
The current notice is therefore part of a repeated pattern of slope monitoring during wet spells rather than an isolated bulletin.
What People on Slopes Should Watch For
NBRO tells people in susceptible areas to watch for changes in the ground and buildings.
New cracks can be an early sign.
So can cracks that suddenly become wider.
Trees, fences or electricity poles may begin leaning.
Walls or floors on slopes can crack.
A new spring may appear.
Muddy water may begin coming out of the ground.
An existing spring can suddenly disappear.
NBRO advises people who notice these signs to move away from the area and follow instructions from disaster officials.
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