In comparison to an image of the area taken on December 1, before the rains began, the Mahaweli River, flowing northeast from the island’s interior to the Indian Ocean, is swollen. Here, sediment-laden flood waters are blue, clear water is black, and vegetation is bright green. The worst affected areas are shown in this false-color image, acquired on December 19, 2004. Over a million acres of paddy fields and agricultural land have been inundated. This year, floods have displaced over 120,000 along the Sri Lanka’s eastern coast. December and January’s rains often trigger floods. The result is the northeast monsoon, which brings heavy rain to the southeastern tip of India and the island nation of Sri Lanka to its east. As winter’s chill cools the Asian landmass, air is drawn southwest toward the moist, warm air over the Indian Ocean.
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