Disasters & Accidents

6 dead, 5 missing after floods, landslides hit Sri Lanka

Colombo, Jun 5 (EFE).- At least six people have died and five are missing after floods and landslides were triggered by monsoon rains in Sri Lanka.

Some 180,000 people have been affected by the adverse weather, the director of the country’s disaster management center, Pradeep Kodippili, told Efe Saturday.

He added that over 4,000 people had been evacuated.

The Sri Lankan army has rescued some 30 people from flooding but alerts for landslides remain in place across much of the island nation, including around the capital Colombo.

Flooding is common in Sri Lanka, a country that goes through its monsoon season between May and September.

The adverse weather conditions have complicated salvage efforts for the X-Press Pearl cargo ship that sank last week, spilling chemical products into the sea.

The heavy rains and flooding have hit at a time when the country is experiencing a surge in Covid-19 cases, with around 3,000 infections being recorded each day. .EFE

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