COLOMBO — Sri Lankan authorities closed schools across the tea-growing highlands on Tuesday as torrential monsoon rains triggered floods and mudslides that have killed at least five people and wounded three others, according to the government's Disaster Management Centre.
The heaviest rainfall in two days has inundated homes, paddy fields and roads across the island, with the central mountainous districts bearing the brunt. Pradeep Kodippili, the centre's spokesperson, said five people died after mudslides engulfed two houses in the region, while three more were injured and two remain missing.
Kodippili added that the floods had damaged 129 houses and forced nearly 2,000 residents to evacuate. The army and navy have been deployed to rescue people trapped by rising waters and to help move them to safer ground.
Television footage from Hiru TV showed soldiers and civilians wading through waist-deep water to pull residents from their homes, while other broadcasts captured large boulders, mudflows and toppled electricity poles blocking several main roads in the central province.
A region still recovering from Cyclone Ditwa
Tuesday's disaster compounds the devastation wrought by Cyclone Ditwa in November, which killed nearly 640 people, affected 2 million and caused an estimated $4.1 billion (€3.5 billion) in damage. The central province was the hardest hit, and the government has been struggling to rebuild roads, railways and houses there.
Mudslides and floods are among the most destructive natural hazards in Sri Lanka, striking almost every year. Heavy monsoon rains typically loosen soil on the steep slopes of the central hill country, sending debris cascading into valleys, while low-lying areas face repeated inundation.
Climate scientists warn that warming oceans are intensifying monsoon systems, making extreme rainfall events more frequent and severe across South Asia. For Sri Lanka, which relies heavily on tea exports from the central highlands, the economic toll of such disasters extends well beyond immediate rescue operations.
The government has not yet released a damage estimate for this week's floods, but officials said assessments are underway. Schools in the affected districts will remain closed until conditions improve, according to the Education Ministry.
As the island nation braces for more rain in the coming days, the Disaster Management Centre urged residents in landslide-prone areas to heed evacuation orders. The military said it is on standby to expand rescue efforts if needed.
