7 killed in floods, landslides in Sri Lanka — Pajhwok

KABUL (Pajhwok): At least seven people have been killed, several others injured and nearly 3,500 displaced after heavy rain triggered floods and landslides in central Sri Lanka, a media report said on Wednesday. Al Jazeera, citing Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre, reported that five people were killed in a landslide that buried two houses, while two others died in flooding. Local authorities said the floods had damaged at least 129 homes and forced nearly 3,500 people to evacuate to safer areas. It said the Sri Lankan government had closed all schools in the country’s central highlands until further notice due to continuing heavy rainfall. The army and navy have also been deployed to rescue residents stranded in flood-hit areas. According to the report, the heaviest rainfall has affected the mountainous tea-growing districts, including Nuwara Eliya and Badulla, which are particularly vulnerable to landslides during the monsoon season. It added that these areas have yet to fully recover from Storm Dithva, which struck in November last year, killing about 640 people and causing an estimated $4.1 billion in damage. Sri Lankan authorities said schools in the affected areas would reopen once weather conditions improved.