Sri Lanka: Country Profile
Overview
Climate-related hazards continue to pose significant risks to Sri Lanka. In the dry zones (northern and eastern parts of the country), weather patterns in recent years have led to more frequent and longer droughts while in the wet zones (south-western region), higher and less predictable rainfall has triggered frequent and intense flooding. From 2000 to 2016, a total of 47 disaster events (including tsunami, drought, floods, landslides, tropical cyclones) affected 14 million people and caused 37,200 fatalities (mostly from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami).