Heavy rains displace 290,000 in Sri Lanka

Nearly 290,000 people have been displaced in Sri Lanka as torrential rains forced dams to overflow and hampered transport, the government said Monday.

The Disaster Management Centre's (DMC) calculations, 288,085 people from 78,527 families had been affected while 22,369 people from 6,537 families had been housed in shelters, Xinhua reported.

"The government has instructed the relevant authorities to take immediate measures to ensure relief for the families hit by the bad weather," DMC spokesman Lal Kumara told reporters.

The eastern town of Batticaloa was the worst hit, with an estimated 30,000 people having to move from their homes.

Thousands more had to be evacuated by the military, including from tourist spots such as Anuradhapura where ancient temple ruins are a popular attraction.

The towns of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa in the north central province are also home to some of Sri Lanka's largest rice fields, with hundreds of dams scattered in the region to provide water in the arid region.

Lashed by heavy showers for days, as many as 300 of these dams have reached the spill level, forcing sluice gates to be opened and threatening people living downriver.

"The safety of pilgrims and foreign visitors is being given priority. They have been evacuated from hotels near major tanks while pilgrims were removed from the sacred city," Anuradhapura District Secretary Mahinda Seneviratne said.

Heavy rains are expected to continue during the Christmas week, dampening relief efforts.

The floods have hampered road and railway services.