Former Las Vegan had planned trip for two years

David Kihara

Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2004 | 9:28 a.m.

A Sri Lankan woman who formerly lived in Las Vegas was found dead in a beach resort town in Sri Lanka over the weekend, a victim of the tsunamis that have claimed more than 18,700 lives in that island nation and at least 50,000 throughout Asia.

Somawo Madawala, who was reportedly in her 60s, was found dead around 10 a.m. Sunday in the beach resort town of Nilaveli, about 170 miles east of the capital Colombo, said Sirali Peiris, a longtime friend and Las Vegas resident.

Madawala was swept up in the tsunami that hit Sri Lanka and 10 other South Asian and Southeast Asian nations. A 9.0 magnitude undersea earthquake on Sunday caused the tsunami.

Madawala was vacationing in Nilaveli with her husband, Joe, and their, son, Janaka. Joe and Janaka, in his early 20s, survived the tsunami and are currently in Sri Lanka, Peiris said.

"She was very friendly and very jovial," said Peiris, who had known Madawala for many years. "She had a lot of friends and whenever she called she would have a joke."

Madawala lived in Las Vegas with her family for a little more than one year, starting in 2000, he said. She and her family moved to Tucson, Ariz., when her husband got a job in Arizona in 2001 and they had been living there since, he said.

Madawala and her husband lived in an apartment on Swenson and Tropicana, Peiris said. Peiris couldn't recall what type of work Joe was involved in when he lived in Las Vegas but recalled Somawo Madawala was not employed during her time there.

Madawala traveled to Sri Lanka earlier this month for the wedding of a friend's daughter and had been planning the trip for two years, said Anjika Boralessa, the niece of Peiris.

Boralessa's mother was the best friend of Madawala and they were classmates through elementary and high school in Sri Lanka.

According to Peiris, who received information from friends and relatives in Sri Lanka, the Madawala's were eating breakfast at the Naveli Beach Hotel when the tsunami struck the town.

"A small wave came at first, but they didn't pay any attention to it and continued eating," he said. "They didn't take it seriously."

The second wave was between 12 feet and 15 feet high and crashed into the veranda where the Madawala's were dining. Joe and Janaka survived the flood but Madawala was pulled out to sea, Peiris said.

Her body was found around 10 a.m. Sunday on the beach, he said.

A funeral service was held for Madawala in Sri Lanka on Tuesday, Boralessa said.