(UDHAYAM, COLOMBO) – NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM satellite constellation provided rainfall data after the monsoon generated large amounts of precipitation in Sri Lanka that caused landslides over the week of May 22.
The monsoon continued to affect the island on May 30 when weather advisory was issued for strong winds.
In an analysis of rainfall accumulation using NASA’s Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) data, heavy rainfall was measured over the South-Western Bay of Bengal over the period from May 23 to early May 26. The maximum IMERG rainfall accumulation estimates over the Bay of Bengal to the North-East of Sri Lanka estimated over 434 mm (17 inches) or rain had fallen. GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese Space Agency JAXA.
The village of Bellana, where the landslide occurred is located on the South-Western side of Sri Lanka. The heaviest rainfall over Sri Lanka for this period appeared on the Southern side of the island nation to the East of Bellana.
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