Heavy rain from Cyclone Ditwah has left people stranded, with more than 18,000 evacuated to temporary shelters
Troops in Sri Lanka were racing to rescue hundreds of people marooned by rising flood waters on Friday as weather-related deaths rose to 69, with another 34 people declared missing.
Helicopters and navy boats carried out rescue operations, plucking people from treetops, roofs and villages cut off by flood waters.
The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said the toll had climbed with the recovery of more bodies in the worst affected central region, where most victims had been buried alive as mudslides hit this week.
Rain was falling across the island with some regions receiving 360mm in the past 24 hours, the DMC said. The Kelani River, which runs into the Indian Ocean near the capital Colombo, overflowed its banks on Friday.
