13 killed as heavy rains lash Sri Lanka

Three more deaths have taken the toll due to heavy monsoon rains in Sri Lanka to 13 and the number of people evacuated to over 50,000, according to the latest official figures released on Thursday.

The country's Disaster Management Centre said that the number of evacuees rose from the 27,621 announced on Wednesday to 54,205, most of whom sought refuge in 251 shelters set up by the government.

The total number of people affected by the monsoon on the island since last week also climbed from the 84,943 announced a day earlier to 125,954 on Thursday, Efe news reported.

According to the weather forecast, the rains were expected to continue for the next three days so the Army deployed over 700 soldiers in emergency services while another 6,000 were on standby.

The southern and western parts of the country were the worst-affected, where 43 houses were destroyed and 3,225 were partially damaged.

Moreover, 143 critical infrastructures of the country were also damaged.

In June 2017, monsoon rains and cyclone Mora caused at least 212 deaths and 79 disappearances in the country.

--IANS

soni/vm