Sri Lanka, Nov. 11 -- Colombo's drainage system, designed to handle around 30mm of rain an hour, was overwhelmed when nearly 100mm of rain fell within just two hours last Friday (06), causing flooding across several parts of the city.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Deputy Director of Drainage and Water Supply at the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), Deepika Wijethilake, said the unusually heavy rainfall within a short period was the main reason for the flooding.

"Our drainage system is designed to handle around 30mm of rain within an hour. However, last week we experienced nearly 100mm within an hour. We have not seen rainfall of this intensity within such a short period in recent times," she said.

She explained that the situation could...