Kandy’s great flood of 1947

The worst ever floods that affected Kandy was in August 1947. The Kandy town itself was not affected. The main areas that were devastated were those around Getambe and Peradeniya.

My elder brother and I were boarders in the Randles Hill hostel of Kingswood College at the time. While my brother was in the fourth standard, I was in the third. The second term of that year had just ended and we were waiting to be taken home for the holidays. At that time our family lived at our maternal grandparents’ Mahagedera which was situated in a village called Boyagama which was accessible from the Kandy-Colombo Road at Nanu Oya and from the Penideniya- Daualgala Road from Elugoda.

Our mother had sent Punchi Banda (PB) also known by his nickname Kahatta, the handyman of the house to bring us home. We were ready for him and PB took our trunk of clothes on his head. After informing the matron that we were on our way home, we left not realizing what was in store for us.

As we got onto the main road, PB gave us the first shock when he said there were no buses plying. We had to walk the whole distance which was about six miles! As we came near the Getambe temple, we saw that all the houses which were on the side of the Mahaweli river had got washed away along with all their contents. The women and girls who had been living in those houses were on the roadside crying their heart out.

All the houses had got washed away, except one two-storied house and the temple which were intact. That is why motorists driving past this temple to this day stop and pay homage to it and drop a coin in a till. Buses too stop here for passengers to pay their respects but few know why or how this custom began.

Having passed this area, we found that there was no further damage up to the Peradeniya Road bridge. This was because the Mahaweli River takes a bend which goes round the Botanical Gardens. The bridge was covered with mud and slush as the water had flown way over it. In fact, we saw some furniture and clothes hanging from the embankment on the side of the Botanical Gardens about 20 feet above the river level. We walked carefully over the bridge as it was very slippery.

While on the road bridge we saw that the railway bridge had got washed away completely. As a result, the trains from upcountry and Colombo could not proceed to Kandy. We had come halfway on our trek and it took us another two hours to get home through Penideniya and Elugoda. All at home were very happy to see us back safely.

They were taken aback when we related our experience as they were not aware of the devastation cause by the flood and the damage it had done.

HM NISSANKA WARAKAULLE