On Thursday, troops in Sri Lanka were sent out to rescue residents in the Capital city Colombo. This area experienced its heaviest rains in 18 years causing the city to flood which forced 300,000 people from their homes. At least one man was killed due to a lightning strike, while one woman was injured when her house collapsed. There are 12 temporary shelters around the capital for the victims to stay while this disaster is being sorted out. The flooding is believed to be caused by the loss of marches in Colombo which used to act as a sponge to soak up water for events such as this. Houses have since replaced these marshes for the growing city. In my opinion, some places are just not meant to be lived on for they serve a specific purpose such as these marshes. I found this article rather interesting because in our Environmental Hazards course we just started talking about floods. Another topic of discussion was the city of New Orleans and how it is located on a place where a city is not meant to be, similar to the houses in Colombo. People just need to realize that the environment is a powerful force that should not be messed with.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101111/wl_asia_afp/srilankaweatherfloods
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