MALWANA, Sri Lanka: At least 153 people have been killed in Sri Lanka after landslides and flooding caused by Cyclone Ditwah, officials said on Saturday, with 191 others missing and more than half a million affected nationwide.
More than 78,000 people have been moved to nearly 800 relief centers, mostly set up in schools, the Disaster Management Center said.
Thousands of police, navy personnel and army troops are distributing food, clearing roads and moving trapped families to safety.
Those who have found refuge in relief centers include Mallika Kumari, whose home was quickly submerged up to the roof on Friday. She bundled her three children into a rented lorry with her husband and spent the night by the roadside.
Kumari and her 554 neighbors live alongside the Kelani River in Malwana, 20 km (12 miles) from Colombo, and face the worst flooding in a decade.
