Abstract:
Every year in Sri Lanka, continuous monsoon rains are available from May to September in the
South Westerly winds and from September to February due to Northeast monsoon winds. Sri
Lanka receives an increased rainfall during the South West and North East monsoon seasons
habitually. But today it is change due to climate change. This extraordinary trend is causing yearly
flooding and increasing social and economic losses. Although the research area Akurana is situated
in the Kandy- Matale A9 highway, which belongs to the Harispattuwa electorate in the kandy
district of Central province, one of the Wet zone of Srilanka. It has been faced flood disasters for
the past two decades. There is no forecast for today’s flash floods. Because of human activity rather
than the influence of natural weather conditions such as Monsoon winds, Tropical cyclones and
Hurricanes. The region received less than 60 MM of rainfall during the period 2006-2018. There is
no change in the rainfall pattern here. If we look at the level of flooding that occurs every year, the
human factors are influencing the flooding and the impacts. Pinga oya is the main river that causes
floods. This oya is a tributary of the Mahaweli river which mainly runs through Akurana, Kudugala,
Ampathenna and the finally reaches to the river Mahaweli at Katugastota. The urbanization of
Akurana is increasing due to the population. Due to economic activity, the width of the river has
shrunk due to the construction of various buildings, bridges, and walls to cover Pinga oya. The
Kandy city boundary is rapidly expanding and is undergoing rapid urbanization moving to nearby
Akurana. Here the city’s vertical construction, improper bridges development projects, dumping of
river waste and lack of good drainage are the reasons for the flood. This can be determined by
static factors such as the Pinga oya’s length, width, beneficial drainage of the pinga oya, its capacity,
raw surface area storage, and the changing factors such as slope, flood control and the river’s
normal functioning. Primary and Secondary data were used for this research. As primary data field
observation, Questionnaire survey, discussion, interviews were used. As secondary data District
Secretariat of Akurana, Climatic data, previous researches, Internet were used. And collected data
were analyzed by GIS, SPSS, and MS. Excel software. And main objective in this research is
identification of human causes of frequent flooding in Akurana, and Finding ways to prevent it.
Finalized of this research is to prevent the flash floods caused by human activities to develop
sustainable development with proper planning and to take action to mitigate the social and
economic losses from such disasters in the future.
