The Disaster Management Centre of Sri Lanka will hold a tsunami preparedness drill on the 5th anniversary of the deadly Indian Ocean tsunami that struck Sri Lanka on 26 Dec 2004.

The preparedness drill will be held on Saturday 26 Dec at 3.00 p.m. in 10 districts.

Tsunami preparedness drills are held in various areas at different times along the coastal belt to warn the public of impending disasters. 10 districts are selected at a time and a single town from each district is elected to represent the district.

The towns on the Saturday drill are Gampaha, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Puttalam, Galle, Kalutara, Matara, Ampara, Hambantota and Colombo. People from these towns will be evacuated to designated safe areas in each town.

The devastating 2004 tsunami killed over 35,000 people in the coastal areas of Sri Lanka and rendered another one million homeless.