At least 56 persons were killed in landslides and incidents related to flooding after heavy rainfall in Sri Lanka, AFP reported on Friday.
While 21 were reported missing, 14 had been taken to hospitals.
Twenty-six of those dead were found buried in mudslides in Badulla district of the central region.
The authorities have deployed the military for relief and rescue operations as several villages in the country were submerged in flood water, the news agency quoted the Disaster Management Centre as saying.
The heavy rainfall was caused by Cyclone Ditwah, which was moving across Sri Lanka’s eastern region.
Some regions of the island nation had experienced rainfall of 360 mm in the past 24 hours, the centre was quoted as saying. The rain continued on Friday.
The cyclone is expected to move northwards towards India. It is expected to affect the coasts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh, according to the India Meteorological Department.
Nearly 700 homes were damaged in landslides and floods in Sri Lanka, AFP reported. Around 1,800 families have moved to temporary shelters.
The disaster management agency asked residents in low-lying areas to move to higher ground.
Final-year school exams were suspended nationwide for two days because of the heavy rainfall.
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