Sri Lanka Floods: Beyond the News—Why the Rivers Flood (A Look at the Mahaweli Ganga and Flood Mitigation

The same powerful waterways that nurture Sri Lanka—the Mahaweli, Kelani, and Kalu rivers—periodically turn into engines of destruction. Beyond the shock of the headlines, the recurrence of Sri Lanka’s floods is a complex story of geography, human development, and a rapidly changing climate. This is not just a natural disaster; it’s a profound, annual challenge to the nation’s resilience.