Lanka rain death toll hits 101 as waters recede
May 25, 2016 11:26 am
Floods subsided across Sri Lanka revealing the full extent of damage from last week’s deluge that also triggered landslides, officials said, as the death toll crossed 100.
The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said 101 people were known to have died last week while another 100 people were still listed as missing in the worst hit central district of Kegalle.
Military officials in the district, 100km (60 miles) northeast of the capital, said a search was still under way for the missing people although there was little hope of finding anyone alive under the tonnes of mud.
“The flood waters have receded across the country,” DMC spokesman Pradeep Kodippili said. “Over 530 houses have been completely destroyed and another 4,000 partly damaged.” He said most of the capital’s flood-affected population had returned to their homes since Monday when the water levels started going down.
At the height of the floods, a third of Colombo’s 650,000 residents were driven out of their homes, according to official
figures.
-AFP
-Agencies
