Sri Lanka closes schools as heavy rains trigger floods and mudslides

Sri Lanka has closed schools in its tea-growing mountainous regions after heavy rains triggered floods and mudslides that killed at least five people. The worst-affected areas are in the country's central region, where downpours over the past two days have caused widespread disruption. Officials said the weather has flooded homes, fields and roads, while rescue teams continue to respond to the emergency.

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The government's Disaster Management Centre said five people died after being buried in mudslides that overran two houses in the central region. Its spokesperson, Pradeep Kodippili, said three people were wounded and two remain missing. He also said rains and floods damaged 129 houses and forced nearly 2,000 people to leave their homes.

Navy and army troops have been deployed to rescue people trapped by floodwaters and help move them to safer places. Local television footage showed troops and civilians helping residents out of flooded homes as mudflows threatened to bury more buildings. Other images showed large rocks, mudslides and fallen electricity poles on several main roads in the central region, blocking traffic in some areas.

The closures and evacuations underline the scale of the disruption in the hill country, where steep terrain can make landslides especially dangerous during periods of intense rain. The latest disaster comes as Sri Lanka is still recovering from the damage caused in November by Cyclone Ditwa, which killed nearly 640 people, affected 2 million and caused an estimated $4.1 billion in losses. The Central province was among the hardest hit areas in that earlier disaster, and the government is still rebuilding roads, railways and houses there.

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The new flooding and mudslides add pressure to those recovery efforts and raise fresh concerns about the resilience of transport links and housing in the region. Mudslides and floods are recurring hazards in Sri Lanka, particularly during heavy monsoon rains. The central hill region is especially vulnerable because rain can loosen saturated slopes, while low-lying areas are more exposed to flooding.

That pattern has made disaster preparedness, evacuation planning and road access central issues for local authorities in affected districts. What remains unclear is whether the number of missing people will rise and how long it will take to restore access on the blocked roads. Officials have not yet given a full assessment of the wider damage beyond the 129 houses already reported.

The next developments to watch are search-and-rescue operations, the condition of displaced families and whether further rain will worsen the situation.

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