Will the Walawe Ganga at Moraketiya rise in the next hour?

In the next hour the Walawe Ganga at Moraketiya should stay about the same (7.7–7.9 ft). This is a forecast from the recent trend, the gauges upstream and rain, not an official warning.

What is the flood level at Moraketiya?

The official marks for this gauge are alert 9.8 ft, minor flood 16.4 ft, major flood 23.0 ft. Alert means the river has reached the alert mark: move valuables up and charge your phone. Minor flood means water is spilling over low ground, and major flood means move to safety.

Where does this come from and how often does it update?

River readings come from the Department of Irrigation's gauges, roughly once an hour, and this page checks for new ones every minute. This site is independent and not an official warning service: follow the Disaster Management Centre and call 117 in an emergency.

Moraketiya Walawe Ganga water level

As of Tue, 27 Oct, 12:01 am (Sri Lanka time), the Walawe Ganga at Moraketiya was 7.8 ft, below the 9.8 ft alert level, and rising slowly.

In the next hour it should stay about the same (7.7–7.9 ft).

Reading at 12:01 am · 56 min ago

Normal

7.8 ft

Next hour

Rising slowly

Next 24 hours

No flooding expected today

The river is expected to stay below alert level for the next 24 hours.

Details

Expected to stay below alert level for the next 24 hours.

Published as 2.37 m (alert 3.0 m, minor flood 5.0 m, major flood 7.0 m)

Elevated river-flow outlook this week.

In	Level	80% range	At
1h	7.8 ft	7.7 to 7.9	1:01 am
3h	7.8 ft	7.4 to 8.0	3:01 am
6h	7.8 ft	7.2 to 8.2	6:01 am
12h	7.8 ft	6.8 to 8.5	12:01 pm
24h	7.8 ft	6.6 to 8.5	12:01 am

Alert (9.8 ft): unlikely, about 1 in 10
Minor flood (16.4 ft): unlikely, about 1 in 10
Major flood (23.0 ft): unlikely, about 1 in 10

Local trend

+0.2 ft/h

Upstream avg

n/a (top)

Rain that fell: 8.2 mm in the last 3 hours, 48 mm in the last 24 hours at this gauge (moderate rain) (heavy for this river)
Rain forecast: 14 mm in the next 24 hours over the catchment (moderate rain). Forecast model estimate.

Satellite estimate of rain over the catchment: 28.4 mm in the last 6 hours, 63.7 mm in the last 24 hours (to 12:30 am). It can differ from the gauges. GSMaP data by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

· Outlook: the GloFAS global flood model has river flow at 384 m3/s in its highest member within 7 days, above the 1-in-20 level (265 m3/s). This is a heads-up only; it does not change the levels above.
· At 3 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h nothing we tested beat 'level stays the same' for this gauge, so that is the line, with a range taken from how much the gauge has really changed over that time.

How this is worked out
· Latest level at Moraketiya and recent change. No gauge sits upstream of it (or none reports in step with it), so the catchment rain is its upstream signal.
· Forecast model estimate of catchment rain (Open-Meteo, area average over 10 grid cells above Moraketiya): 22 mm modelled for the last 24 hours, 14 mm forecast for the next 24 hours, with ECMWF ensemble spread.
· The 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 hour steps use this gauge's own recent changes and the other gauges on the river (fitted to about 11 months of hourly readings, including the November 2025 Ditwah floods); where this was tested against 'level stays the same' it missed by less.

Is this right?

Each answer helps us improve the forecast for your area.

Water level

How this river reacts to rain

A slow river. Rain close to Moraketiya shows up in the river in about 17 hours.
About 35 mm of rain over 24 hours, averaged over the catchment, has usually come before a rise of 1 ft or more.

Learned from 11 months of readings and satellite rain. A guide, not a forecast.

This gauge’s forecasts: the next hour is typically off by about 0.2 ft; 24 hours ahead, by about 0.5 ft (last 30 days, 25 checks).

River map

GaugeReservoirTap a gauge or reservoir for details.

When does Moraketiya flood?

Flood warnings come mostly between November and January.

It’s October: usually a quieter month here, though heavy rain can still bring floods.

Recent floods

14 Aug 2026Major flood
28 May 2026Major flood
20 Nov – 21 Nov 2025Major flood · estimated

Every day since 2022, year by year

Other stations

Reservoirs upstream

Udawalawe87% fullSteady. CEB doesn't publish live gate releases. We show storage and the Mahaweli weekly plan. Storage: Mahaweli Authority, 26 Oct. Level -0.07 m since 23 Oct.

Towns that depend on this gauge

Flood help & emergency numbers

Common questions

Is Moraketiya flooding now?: As of Tue, 27 Oct, 12:01 am (Sri Lanka time), the Walawe Ganga at Moraketiya was 7.8 ft, below the 9.8 ft alert level, and rising slowly.
Will the Walawe Ganga at Moraketiya rise in the next hour?: In the next hour the Walawe Ganga at Moraketiya should stay about the same (7.7–7.9 ft). This is a forecast from the recent trend, the gauges upstream and rain, not an official warning.
What is the flood level at Moraketiya?: The official marks for this gauge are alert 9.8 ft, minor flood 16.4 ft, major flood 23.0 ft. Alert means the river has reached the alert mark: move valuables up and charge your phone. Minor flood means water is spilling over low ground, and major flood means move to safety.
Where does this come from and how often does it update?: River readings come from the Department of Irrigation's gauges, roughly once an hour, and this page checks for new ones every minute. This site is independent and not an official warning service: follow the Disaster Management Centre and call 117 in an emergency.