Over one million displaced in Sri Lanka floods

COLOMBO - Over one million people have been displaced by flooding in north-central and north-eastern Sri Lanka, officials said Sunday, as monsoon rains fell for the sixth consecutive day.

The floods were widespread and were affecting roads, agricultural land and town centres, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said.

According to officials based in the area, the death toll has reached more than 13. But the DMC said Sunday it had so far received confirmation of only eight deaths and two missing people.

Many areas were inaccessible, and so the exact situation and the full extent of the damage were not yet known.

Over 250,000 displaced people were living in government camps while others had been taken in by friends and relatives or found refuge in other buildings including temples.

The government has mobilized navy boats and air force helicopters to rescue the marooned, mostly in the north-central districts of Anuradhapura and Polonnaurwa and in Trincomalee, north-east of the capital.

Flooding in the same areas last month claimed 43 lives and displaced 1.1 million people.