SRI LANKAN troops worked on Friday to rescue hundreds of people stranded by rising floodwaters as weather-related deaths reached 69 and 34 people were reported missing.
Helicopters and navy boats carried out several rescue operations, taking residents from rooftops, treetops and villages cut off by the floods.
The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said the toll increased after more bodies were recovered in the worst-hit central region, where mudslides buried most of the victims earlier this week.
Rain continued across the island, with some areas receiving 360 millimetres in the past 24 hours, according to the DMC.
The Kelani River, which flows into the Indian Ocean near Colombo, overflowed on Friday.
VSA Ratnayake, 56, said he left his home in Kaduwela as it was flooded. "I think this could be the worst flood in our area for three decades," Ratnayake told AFP. "I remember a flood in the 1990s when my house was under seven feet of water."
Another Kaduwela resident, Kalyani, 48, who goes by one name, said she was sheltering two families whose homes were flooded.
At least 3,000 homes were damaged by mudslides and floods, and more than 18,000 people were moved to temporary shelters.
In Anuradhapura district in the north, an Air Force Bell 212 helicopter airlifted a man who climbed a coconut tree to escape the rising water.
The DMC said more rain was expected, with Cyclone Ditwah likely to move away from the north towards Tamil Nadu by Sunday.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences and said New Delhi was sending aid. "We stand ready to provide more aid and assistance as the situation evolves," Modi said on X.
DMC officials said they expected flood levels to exceed those in 2016, when 71 people died nationwide.
Sirasa TV aired an appeal from a woman seeking help. "We are six people, including a one-and-a-half-year-old child. If the water rises another five steps up the staircase, we will have nowhere to go," she said by telephone.
Dozens of stranded tourists were evacuated to Colombo from central tea-growing areas on Friday.
Sri Lanka is in its northeast monsoon season, but rainfall has intensified due to Cyclone Ditwah, the DMC said.
Sri Lanka depends on monsoon rains for irrigation and hydroelectricity, and experts have warned of more frequent floods.
This week’s toll is the highest since June last year, when 26 people died after heavy rain. In December, 17 people were killed in flooding and landslides.
The country’s worst flooding since 2000 occurred in June 2003, when 254 people were killed.
(With inputs from agencies)
