COLOMBO — 2017 · Major Tragedy
Meethotamulla Garbage Dump Collapse
On the morning of 14 April 2017, during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year celebrations, a large section of the Meethotamulla rubbish dump north-east of Colombo collapsed onto surrounding homes. The waste mountain, which had grown to about 48 metres high and received hundreds of tonnes of the city's rubbish every day, slid after heavy rain and a fire at the site. According to the Disaster Management Centre, 32 people died and eight went missing; dozens of homes were destroyed. Residents had complained for years about the danger. A presidential commission of inquiry concluded that the municipal administration had failed to act despite advance warnings. Afterwards Colombo's waste was diverted to other sites.
- Date
- 2017
- Place
- Meethotamulla, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Colombo, LK
- Category
- Major Tragedy
- Case Status
- Closed
- Coordinates
- 6.9400, 79.8900 ↗
Timeline of Events
- 14 April 2017Part of the dump collapsed onto homes.
- 20 April 2017The toll was given as 32 dead and eight missing.
- 2017The dump was closed and waste diverted elsewhere.
- 26 October 2017The presidential commission found the municipality had ignored warnings.
Sources
- Wikipedia — 2017 Meethotamulla landslide en.wikipedia.org ↗
- Groundviews — Meethotamulla: A Preventable Tragedy groundviews.org ↗
- AGU Landslide Blog — The Meethotamulla garbage dump disaster blogs.agu.org ↗
- Wikipedia
- Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)
- Groundviews
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.