Sri Lanka closes schools as floods and mudslides triggered by heavy rains kill 7

By: Bharatha Mallawarachi, The Associated Press Posted: Last Modified:

Advertisement

Advertise with us

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Floods and mudslides triggered by heavy rains have left at least seven people dead in Sri Lanka ’s tea-growing mountainous regions and forced the closure of some schools, officials said Tuesday.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Floods and mudslides triggered by heavy rains have left at least seven people dead in Sri Lanka ’s tea-growing mountainous regions and forced the closure of some schools, officials said Tuesday.

Heavy downpours over the last two days flooded homes, fields and roads in many parts of the country. The mountainous areas in the central region are the worst hit, according to the government’s Disaster Management Center.

At least five people died after being buried in mudslides that overran two houses in the central region, while two others died in floods, said Pradeep Kodippili, the center’s spokesperson. Three others have been injured. He said 291 houses had been damaged and nearly 3,500 people have been evacuated.

People walk across a mud covered road following heavy rain in Nawalapitiya, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo)
People walk across a mud covered road following heavy rain in Nawalapitiya, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo)

Navy and army personnel have been deployed to rescue those trapped in the floods. Local television channel Hiru TV showed troops and civilians rescuing people trapped by floodwaters in their homes or at risk of being buried by mudflows.

Local channels also showed huge rocks, mudslides and fallen electric posts blocking several roads in the central region.

The natural disaster comes as Sri Lanka is still trying to recover from the devastation in November caused by Cyclone Ditwa, which killed nearly 640 people, affected 2 million people and caused an estimated $4.1 billion in damage.

The central province was the hardest hit by Ditwa and the government is struggling to rebuild roads, railways and houses.

Mudslides and floods are among the most destructive natural disasters, causing severe damage to lives and property in Sri Lanka every year. Heavy monsoon rains mostly trigger mudslides in the central hill region while flooding low-lying areas, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes.

Advertisement Advertise With Us

Report Error Submit a Tip

Advertisement

Learn more about Winnipeg Free Press Advertising solutions

More Stories

Dealing now with increasing judicial dangers

Ben Wickstrom 5 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

For years, the Manitoba Association of Crown Attorneys (“MACA”) has been engaged in a dispute with the Manitoba government over the workload of its lawyers. That dispute is expected to come to a head at the end of November, when two weeks of grievance hearings are scheduled.

We remain hopeful that we can reach an agreement with our employer. But if we cannot, our union’s lawyers are prepared to make our case. As those hearings approach, we want to explain how we got here, what is at stake, and why this dispute matters beyond the working conditions of our members.

These problems are longstanding and predate the election of Manitoba’s current government. Our concern with the current government is not that it created these problems, but that it is now responsible for addressing them.

Despite the evidence before it, the government has not meaningfully addressed the workload concerns we have raised throughout its time in office.

Supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro protest against his defeat in the presidential runoff election, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022. Thousands of supporters called on the military Wednesday to keep the far-right leader in power, even as his administration signaled a willingness to hand over the reins to his rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

The Brazilian election

Gwynne Dyer 5 minute read Preview

The Brazilian election

Gwynne Dyer 5 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

“Flávio Bolsonaro is Trump’s candidate and what Trump wants is to colonize Brazil, take our riches, steal our future and leave us in the dust,” claims the latest video released by President Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva’s re-election campaign. The weird thing is about half of Brazil’s voters would be okay with Trump running the country (through Bolsonaro).

Read
2:00 AM CDT

Chalk surprise gift up to lust, not love

Maureen Scurfield 4 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I just got a funny birthday card and a single pink rose delivered to me at work from a boyfriend who broke up with me last spring because I’d gotten too serious (in his opinion). I cried for days back then. He ignored his phone.

I don’t know how to respond to him now. Do you think he’s really had a change of heart, or has he just not gotten lucky for a long time and thought I might be open to hooking up on my birthday?

— Suspicious Ex, Downtown

Dear Suspicious Ex: You just received a birthday card, a single pink rose and no voice contact? He wasn’t taking any chances on being shot down face-to-face, but he definitely is taking a stab at possibly getting some action.

Teacher barred for ‘repeated boundary-crossing conduct’

Maggie Macintosh 3 minute read Yesterday at 11:01 PM CDT

A disciplinary panel has ordered the cancellation of a Chinese-Canadian teacher’s certificate because of her “repeated boundary-crossing with a student” during her tenure at an international school with local ties.

Janice Wen Ying Ma is permanently barred from teaching on Manitoba soil or at a Manitoba-accredited institution as of Sept. 14.

The new ruling concludes that Ma engaged in inappropriate physical interaction and “emotionally intimate online messages” with a girl who attended Clifford International School in Guangzhou, China in 2024-25.

“This conduct represents a fundamental departure from the standards expected of a teacher,” the panel, chaired by public representative Gordon Schumacher, wrote in its 22-page decision.

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Premier Wab Kinew knows about political communication and uses it to his advantage.

Wab Kinew as ‘communicator in chief’

Paul G. Thomas 6 minute read Preview

Wab Kinew as ‘communicator in chief’

Paul G. Thomas 6 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

Premier Wab Kinew and his party have been riding high in the polls longer than normal for a government one year or less away from its first re-election contest. One reason is his ubiquitous, dominating communications presence as NDP leader and premier.

The argument here is that Kinew has supplemented his prerogatives as premier and party leader (such as appointing cabinet ministers and approving party nominations) with the skilful use of communications to advance his policy agenda, boost his personal popularity and maintain the competitive advantage of his party over the opposition Progressive Conservatives.

Communications has always been a significant part of politics and policy making. However, in the contemporary political and media environments, communications considerations have moved from the background to the foreground of decision-making by political parties, including when they are performing in the role of government. Campaigning and governing now overlap in what has been described as a permanent election campaign.

Political parties use communications strategies for several purposes: to establish an image of the leader which makes a positive emotional connection with voters; to promote a coherent message and to keep party members on message; and to gain favourable media coverage for its policies and other actions on almost a daily basis.

Read
Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Micheal O’Malley, founder of La Parfumerie, has been ordered by the city of Winnipeg to close his retail store in Wolseley.

Perfumer battling city hall to keep his shop open

Gabrielle Piché 5 minute read Preview

Perfumer battling city hall to keep his shop open

Gabrielle Piché 5 minute read Yesterday at 5:45 PM CDT

Michael O’Malley has been here before — fighting the City of Winnipeg to keep his business open.

He usually spends his days concocting scents. He’s owned La Parfumerie, a Wolseley shop, since 1993.

Twenty-seven natural perfumes line shelves on 145 Evanson St.’s bottom floor. O’Malley lives above the space.

Now, he’s required to change the home’s zoning or shut out walk-in customers. Either would kill the company, O’Malley said.

Read
Yesterday at 5:45 PM CDT