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10 Schools near landslide zone closed as precautionary measure
View(s):At least 10 schools in the Haldumulla Education Division were ordered closed until tomorrow as a precautionary measure following Thursday’s landslide at the Meeriyabedda Estate, where some 200 people are feared buried alive, regional Education officials said.
Authorities have warned that the slopes in and around the disaster zone are vulnerable to more landslides as torrential monsoon rains continue to lash the area.
At least 75 schoolchildren residing on Meeriyabedda Estate escaped the tragedy, as they had already left for school at that time.
The students belonged to Punagala Sinhala School, Kabaragala School, Meeriyabedda School, Balagala School and Naketiya Tamil School.
Meanwhile, other schools are being used to house hundreds of displaced persons such as those who have been advised to leave their homes as a precautionary measure, officials added.
Government, in the meantime, blamed the residents for refusing to leave the area, despite landslide warnings in 2005 and 2008, but residents argued that the authorities had failed to provide alternative housing to them.
Thursday’s incident is the second largest loss of life in a natural disaster in the country, after the December 26, 2004, tsunami that killed some 35,000 people. (LB)