COLOMBO (SRI LANKA) (TIP): At least nine people have been killed in mudslides triggered by heavy rains in the central hills of Sri Lanka.
Disaster-response officials say more than 60,000 people have been evacuated and 3,000 homes destroyed as floods and mudslides covered many parts of the Indian Ocean island in the last four days.
Pradeep Kodippili, a spokesman at the state disaster management center, says nine people were killed in the Badulla district on Friday. Another eight have been injured and two are missing.
It is a monsoon season in some parts of Sri Lanka, but many other areas not normally affected are also experiencing non-seasonal rain.