31 dead as torrential rains trigger floods and landslides in Sri Lanka

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Torrential rains, floods and landslides have left 31 people dead in Sri Lanka with nearly 4000 affected in the last 11 days, as the Island nation grapples with one of its worst weather-related crises.

Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Centre said on Thursday that 18 deaths were reported from the central hill districts alone due to landslides.

In a terrifying incident, a passenger bus got trapped in rising floodwaters in Kumbukkana. Emergency teams managed to rescue twenty-three passengers successfully, Daily Mirror Online reported.

Nearly 10 people have sustained injuries, while 14 persons are reported missing, Adaderana news portal reported. 

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had called a crisis meeting to assess the deteriorating situation in 17 of the 25 administrative districts.

According to the weather bureau, the island's southeast periphery had developed a low-pressure situation, which had developed into a depression and is centred 210 km southeast of Batticaloa.

It is very likely to move northwestwards and intensify further into a deep depression during the next 12 hours, it added.

Very heavy rainfalls above 200 mm are likely to hit several parts of the island, it said.