Over 100 people from more than 25 families in Senanayakapura and Samapura, Ampara, have been evacuated to safer locations due to the threat of the Gal Oya Dam breaching, according to the Ampara District Secretary.

“The banks of the Gal Oya in the Senanayakepura have eroded. There is no possibility of temporarily repairing it by placing sandbags. Currently, there is only a risk of it breaching—it has not breached as of yet,” the District Secretary stated.

He warned that if the dam break, families in Suduwella of Senanayakepura and Samapura Grama Niladhari divisions under the Ampara Divisional Secretariat Division could face severe flooding.

To address the potential crisis, a camp has been set up to accommodate about 40 families, comprising approximately 110 individuals, the District Secretary confirmed.