COLOMBO: Sri Lanka closed schools on Monday due to heavy rain triggering floods and mudslides across the island nation, resulting in the deaths of at least 10 people and leaving six others missing, officials reported.
The education ministry announced that the reopening of schools would depend on the weather conditions.
Since Sunday, heavy downpours have wreaked havoc in many parts of the country, flooding homes, fields, and roads, and forcing authorities to cut electricity as a precautionary measure.
According to the disaster management center, six people died from being washed away and drowning in Colombo, the capital, and the remote Rathnapura district on Sunday. Three others died when mounds of earth collapsed on their houses, and one person died when a tree fell on him. Six people have gone missing since Sunday.
The government also ordered all schools to remain shut on Monday after the weekend holiday, as more rain was forecast. The Disaster Management Center (DMC) warned, “There could be more heavy rains accompanied by strong winds and thunder.”
Last week, wildlife authorities found seven carcasses of young elephants that drowned, marking the largest single loss of elephants in five years. The onset of the southwest monsoon triggered flooding in the elephant habitat in Dimbulagala, approximately 250 kilometers northeast of Colombo.
As of Monday, over 5,000 people had been relocated to evacuation centers, and more than 400 homes had been damaged, according to the center’s statement.
Navy and army troops have been deployed to rescue victims and provide food and other essentials to those affected.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with severe weather conditions since mid-May due to heavy monsoon rains. Earlier, strong winds downed trees in many areas, resulting in the deaths of nine people.
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