The Disaster Management Center said in a statement Sunday that one person has been reported missing and more than 55,000 people have become homeless and are housed in camps. A six-year-old boy and a nine-year-old girl were killed in separate incidents in the district of Badulla on Sunday, while five others also died in mudslides over the weekend.
Heavy rains have caused flooding in the island's center and east where more than 750,000 people have moved to temporary shelters after their homes were flooded, said N. B. Weragama, director at the Disaster Management Center.
He said that 1,500 troops had joined rescue efforts to evacuate marooned villagers. Sri Lanka depends on monsoon rains for irrigation and power generation, but the seasonal downpours frequently cause deaths and damage to property in low-lying areas.
The island's two main monsoon seasons run from May to September and December to February.
