Death toll rises to 58 as 400,000 displaced

Friday, 20 May 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The death toll from landslides and flooding as a result of heavy rains lashing over the island climbed steadily yesterday, ending at 58 fatalities and nearly 300,000 displaced as weather forecasts showed more stormy weather in the coming days.

The Disaster Management Center said over 400,000 people had been affected by the inclement weather after rising water levels in rivers and suburbs around Colombo cut off access to areas of Wellampitiya and Kolonnawa and several other parts of the island.

The death toll from twin landslides in the Kegalle District’s Aranayake and Bulathkohupitiya areas rose to 30 with military personnel engaged in search and rescue missions digging 11 bodies out of the mountainous rubble yesterday.

Rain continued to hamper rescue operations in Kegalle, Western Commanding Officer Major General Sudantha Ranasinghe said, as the mountain slopes got more perilous and slippery.

Hope was slipping of finding survivors in the rubble, Ranasinghe told Daily FT, adding that he feared 134 people still missing may have been buried in the slide.