Jaffna’s December Deluge: A Look at the Impact and Aftermath of the 2023 Heavy Rains

The picture I took on Karainagar Island in Jaffna tells a clear story of what happened after the heavy rains. It wasn’t just Jaffna; Tamil Nadu in Sri Lanka also felt the impact, causing big problems for many communities. Villages got badly damaged, homes were lost, and people’s lives were turned upside down.

To make things worse, the prices of vegetables shot up, leading to a food crisis in the area. This incident shows how long the effects of natural disasters can last. Communities are still dealing with the aftermath, facing a lot of difficulties.

It highlights how important it is to have good plans to deal with these disasters and protect the people who are affected. Because these things can happen unexpectedly, being ready to handle them is really important.

In Jaffna, we usually get our yearly rainfall between October and January when the northeast monsoon comes. This rain isn’t just a little drizzle; it helps fill up our water sources and supports the local farmers in growing their crops.

Sometimes, when it’s raining, people in Jaffna start growing paddy, a kind of rice. But if it rains too much, it can cause problems for farms that grow onions, green chilies, and other veggies. All these crops find it tough to grow, and even the farms with cows and goats have trouble because of too much rain.

When there’s heavy rain and flooding, the grass that cows and goats eat becomes scarce, making things hard for them. Even the chickens can get sick when it rains a lot, catching the flu or other illnesses because of the cold and wet weather. So, everyone needs to be careful when the rain gets heavy.

Last year, in December 2023, we had so much rain that it caused major floods, and that made life really tough for many people in our area.