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Death toll in Sri Lanka floods, mudslides rises to 14

By iNFOTEL
June 06 2021 01:10 AM

CP1171349720 — A Sri Lankan vendor waits in his stall as a boat stands in a flooded road at Malwana, on the out skirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, June 5, 2021. Flash floods and mudslides triggered by heavy rains in Sri Lanka have killed at least four people and left seven missing, while more than 5,000 are displaced, officials said Saturday. Rains have been pounding six districts of the Indian Ocean island nation since Thursday night, and many houses, paddy fields and roads have been inundated, blocking traffic. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The death toll from floods and mudslides following heavy rains in Sri Lanka rose to 14 with another two missing, officials said Sunday.

Ten districts on the Indian Ocean island have been under heavy rainfall since last Thursday, including the capital Colombo and suburbs where many houses, paddy fields and roads have been inundated.

Ten people have died in floods while another four lost their lives in mudslides, according to the government’s Disaster Management Center. Among them was a family of four who died when a mound of earth crashed onto their house in Kegalle district, about 85 kilometers (53 miles) east of Colombo.

Two others remain missing.

Sri Lanka’s navy said it had deployed 33 teams to flooded areas, which so far have rescued 66 people stranded by the floodwaters.

The Disaster Management Center said the extreme weather has affected some 245,000 people, and over 4,300 remain displaced in emergency shelters. More than 800 houses have been damaged.

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