Two opposition politicians have blamed the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) for the flooding that hit Colombo on Friday, and one of them said Mayor Vraie Cally Balthazar should resign or be removed.

Opposition MP S. M. Marikar said on Sunday that the Department of Meteorology had warned of heavy rain linked to El Nino in October and November. He said the Mayor should have had the city’s drains and culverts cleaned in time, and that Colombo would not have flooded if that had been done. He called on either the Mayor to resign or President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to remove her.

Marikar, who is also a member of the Disaster Management Council, said heavier rain had fallen in Colombo before, including more than 400mm in 1992. Important institutions such as the Colombo National Hospital had never been hit by floods in the past, he said. He also said Jawatte, the ward the Mayor represents, was flooded on Friday, and that no opposition member of the CMC had been invited to the post-disaster discussions.

United Republican Front (URF) leader Patali Champika Ranawaka said on Sunday that the flood could have been averted if the CMC and other officials had followed a directive from Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya to clean canals and drainage systems across Colombo.

Ranawaka rejected the Mayor’s claim that the drainage system could not cope with 129mm of rain recorded on 6 November because it was designed for 30mm. He called that explanation a blatant lie and urged the Government to inquire into the Mayor’s inaction. He also said compensation should be paid to the business community and ordinary people who suffered losses.

Background

The Prime Minister issued the directive on 13 October 2026 at the Colombo District Coordinating Committee meeting in Narahenpita. She asked for the clean-up of canals and drainage systems to be completed within two years, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

At that meeting, local authorities, including Divisional Secretariats, the Department of Agrarian Development and the Provincial Irrigation Department, described a shortage of technical officers, difficulty in drafting plans and cost estimates, and long-standing maintenance gaps.

Ranawaka said nothing had been done since the National People’s Power won the CMC at the local government elections in May 2025. He said the Colombo National Hospital and the Fort Central Bus Stand had not been so badly affected by earlier, heavier rain.

What it means

More wet weather is possible. The Department of Meteorology said on Sunday that another atmospheric disturbance is developing over the south-east Bay of Bengal and is expected to become a low pressure system by 15 November. The Department of Irrigation said the flood gates of about 15 reservoirs were at spill level.

The Department advised fishing and naval communities to stay vigilant. Neither statement reported on Sunday announced any decision on compensation.