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2 killed, over 65,000 affected by heavy rains in Sri Lanka

23 December 2019 14:48 (UTC +04:00)

Two people were killed and over 65,000 affected by days of heavy rains and strong winds which lashed out across Sri Lanka, the Disaster Management Center said in a statement on Monday, APA reports citing Xinhua.

Over 17,000 people were evacuated to safer shelters while over 1,500 houses were partially or fully damaged in over 13 districts.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday visited Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura in North Central Province which was one of the worst affected by floods and landslides. The president inspected relief measures provided to those displaced, reviewed the welfare program and instructed the relevant authorities to continue providing assistance to the affected communities.

The armed forces have been deployed in several districts across the country to provide immediate aids and take part in search and rescue mission, the Defense Ministry said.

The Navy deployed 25 rescue teams who were patrolling the flood affected areas in dinghies to aid flood victims.