Heavy rains trigger landslides and floods in Sri Lanka, leaving more than 40 dead

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka stopped passenger trains and closed roads in some parts of the country where landslides and floods triggered by heavy rains have caused more than 40 deaths, officials said Thursday.

The government’s disaster management center said 25 of the reported deaths occurred in the mountainous tea-growing regions of Badulla and Nuwara Eliya in the country’s central province about 300 kilometres (186 miles) east of the capital, Colombo.

Another 21 people were missing Thursday due to landslides in the same areas, while 10 people were injured, the center said.

Sri Lanka began grappling with severe weather last week, made worse by downpours over the weekend that wreaked havoc by flooding homes, fields and roads.

Reservoirs and rivers have overflowed, blocking roads. Some key roads connecting the provinces have been closed, officials said.

Authorities stopped trains in some areas in the mountainous region after rocks, muds and trees fell onto railway tracks, and local television showed workers removing the debris. In some areas, floods have inundated the tracks.

Local television showed an air force helicopter rescuing three people stranded on the roof of a house marooned by floods, while navy and police used boats to transport residents.

Footage also showed a car being swept away by floodwaters near the eastern town of Ampara, about 410 kilometers (256 miles) east of Colombo, leaving three passengers dead.