Sri Lanka is set to experience heavy rainfall accompanied by flash flood risks over the next 24 hours due to a deep depression located offshore. This weather system is expected to make landfall between Hambantota and Batticaloa on the evening of January 9, according to regional and national meteorological offices.
The deep depression is currently situated in the Bay of Bengal, approximately 230 kilometers southeast of Pottuvil, as of 16:00 on January 8. The Sri Lankan meteorological office indicated that it is “very likely to move west-northwestwards across the southwest Bay of Bengal and cross the Sri Lankan coast between Hambantota and Batticaloa between 5:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. on January 9, 2026.”
For further details, you can download the Sri Lanka meteorological office advisory on rain and floods here.
According to the ECMWF model, the weather system may weaken from a deep depression to a depression by the time it reaches the coast. Nonetheless, heavy rains are anticipated in the next 24 hours leading up to the system’s arrival.
