COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Heavy rain and lightning strikes across Sri Lanka have left at least seven people dead and displaced more than 1,000, officials said Monday.

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said lighting killed six people and a landslide killed another in different parts of the island.

The Disaster Management Center said 1,024 people were moved to 20 safe locations. Hundreds of army troops and police were deployed to carry out relief work and rescue operations as heavy rains caused flash floods in many parts of the country.

Sri Lanka has been experiencing heavy rains since Sunday, prompting the government to issue landslide warnings for five districts.

The meteorology department warned of thundershowers with strong winds over the next 24 hours and asked people to take precautions against lightning strikes.

Sri Lanka has suffered frequent natural calamities in recent years. More than 200 people were killed in mudslides and floods during monsoon rains last May. </s> Colombo, May 24 (IANS) Three more deaths have taken the toll due to heavy monsoon rains in Sri Lanka to 13 and the number of people evacuated to over 50,000, according to the latest official figures released on Thursday.

The country’s Disaster Management Centre said that the number of evacuees rose from the 27,621 announced on Wednesday to 54,205, most of whom sought refuge in 251 shelters set up by the government.

The total number of people affected by the monsoon on the island since last week also climbed from the 84,943 announced a day earlier to 125,954 on Thursday, Efe news reported.

According to the weather forecast, the rains were expected to continue for the next three days so the Army deployed over 700 soldiers in emergency services while another 6,000 were on standby.

The southern and western parts of the country were the worst-affected, where 43 houses were destroyed and 3,225 were partially damaged.

Moreover, 143 critical infrastructures of the country were also damaged.

In June 2017, monsoon rains and cyclone Mora caused at least 212 deaths and 79 disappearances in the country. </s> Heavy monsoon rain in Sri Lanka has left at least 12 people dead and more than 40,000 others displaced across the country.

Officials ordered the military to help those affected by the showers, believed to be upwards of 100,000 people so far.

The country's disaster management agency has issued alerts warning of the risk of landslides after days of heavy rain.

Al Jazeera's Minelle Fernandez, reporting from Kalutara in South-Western Sri Lanka, said the Sri Lankan navy was ferrying those in need to hospitals.

"We're hearing that waters are receding but here in Kalutara...what you see is not a lake, not a reservoir, not a sea, but what used to be paddy fields until the deluge of water over the past couple of days," our correspondent said.

Sri Lankan officials say the water levels are dropping but warn that more rain is on the way.

May is usually the wettest time of the year in southern and western parts of Sri Lanka, as the summer monsoon sets up across the island.

Last year, the rains in May and June were so heavy that 100 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of others had to seek temporary accommodations. </s> Floods and landslides in Sri Lanka have killed at least 91 people while more than 100 are missing after torrential rain, officials said on Friday, as soldiers fanned out in boats and in helicopters to help with rescue operations.The early rainy season downpours have forced hundreds of people from their homes across the Indian Ocean island."There are at least five landslides reported in several places in Kalutara," said police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody, referring to the worst-hit district on the island's west coast."Rescue operations are still taking place."The disaster management center said 91 people had been killed and 110 were missing.The center said 38 deaths were reported from Kalutara while 46 were reported from the central southern district of Ratnapura.Military Spokesman Roshan Senevirathne said about 400 military personnel had been deployed with boats and helicopters to help the police and civilian agencies.The wettest time of the year in Sri Lanka's south is usually during the southern monsoon, from May to September. The island nation also receives heavy rains in the North West monsoonal season from November to February.and they expected more rain in the coming days as the South-west monsoon condition had established over the country.(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez) </s> Floods and landslides in Sri Lanka have killed at least 91 people while more than 100 are missing after torrential rain, officials said on Friday, as soldiers fanned out in boats and in helicopters to help with rescue operations.

The early rainy season downpours have forced hundreds of people from their homes across the Indian Ocean island.

“There are at least five landslides reported in several places in Kalutara,” said police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody, referring to the worst-hit district on the island’s west coast.

The disaster management center said 91 people had been killed and 110 were missing.

The center said 38 deaths were reported from Kalutara while 46 were reported from the central southern district of Ratnapura.

Military Spokesman Roshan Senevirathne said about 400 military personnel had been deployed with boats and helicopters to help the police and civilian agencies.

The wettest time of the year in Sri Lanka’s south is usually during the southern monsoon, from May to September. The island nation also receives heavy rains in the North West monsoonal season from November to February.

Sri Lankan meteorology officials said Thursday’s rains are the worst since 2003 and they expected more rain in the coming days as the South-west monsoon condition had established over the country. </s> Three new deaths in the last few hours have taken the death toll due to recent heavy monsoon rains in Sri Lanka to 13 and the number of people evacuated to over 50,000, according to the latest official figures released on Thursday.

The country's Disaster Management Centre said that the number of evacuees rose from the 27,621, announced on Wednesday, to 54,205, most of whom have sought refuge in 251 shelters set up by the government. </s> Colombo: The number of people known to have been killed in floods and landslides in Sri Lanka rose to 113, officials said on Saturday, as the country appealed for international assistance.

The Foreign Ministry said that in coordination with the Disaster Management Ministry, an appeal had been made to the United Nations and neighbouring countries to provide assistance "especially in the areas of search and rescue operations".

India is sending three Navy ships with supplies and other aid, the first of which arrived in Colombo on Saturday night.

Officials said deaths were reported from the western coastal district of Kalutara, the central southern district of Ratnapura and the southern district of Matara.

The early rainy season downpours have forced many families from their homes and affected over 270,000 people across the nation.

Police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody said multiple landslides were reported in Kalutara, Ratnapura and Matara.

The wettest time of the year in Sri Lanka's south is usually from May to September.

The island nation also gets heavy rains in the North West monsoonal season from November to February.

Sri Lankan meteorology officials said Thursday's rains were the worst since 2003 and they expected more in the coming days. </s> Colombo: Indian medical teams and emergency relief arrived in Sri Lanka on Saturday as the monsoon-related death toll reached 100 and authorities warned of more flooding in low-lying areas.

Meanwhile, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi today condoled the loss of lives and property in Sri Lanka due to heavy flooding and landslides.

"India condoles the loss of lives and property in Sri Lanka due to flooding and landslides. We stand with our Sri Lankan brothers and sisters in their hour of need," the Prime Minister said.

A ship carrying medical supplies docked in Colombo today, sent by India to help deal with the worst flooding in the island`s western and southern regions in 14 years after record rainfall.

India is sending another ship due to arrive on Sunday after Sri Lanka issued an international appeal for help.

Meanwhile, the official Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said today that the death toll from floods and a string of landslides had climbed to 100 while the number of missing since Friday`s deluge had been revised down to 90 from 110.

Forty other people are in a hospital.

Authorities issued fresh evacuation orders for those living downstream of two major rivers, citing a risk of flooding even though the rains had subsided.

"The monsoon has firmly established and we could have evening showers at a lesser intensity", metrological department chief SR Jayasekera said.

The flooding is the worst since May 2003 when 250 people were killed and 10,000 homes destroyed after a similarly powerful Southwest monsoon, officials said.

The DMC said the monsoon ended a prolonged drought that had threatened agriculture as well as hydropower generation.

The rains have filled reservoirs used for hydroelectric projects after low supplies had raised fears of power shortages in June.

But officials said most reservoirs were now so full they were in danger of spilling over and flooding communities living downstream.

Friday`s flooding was caused by rivers bursting their banks, but unusually heavy rain triggered more than a dozen landslides burying homes on mountain slopes.

By Friday evening over 60,000 people had been driven out of their homes while nearly 500 homes had been either damaged or destroyed.

Most of the deaths have occurred due to mountainsides collapsing on homes, authorities say. </s> Sri Lanka has appealed for outside help as the death toll from floods and mudslides on Saturday rose to 100 with 99 others missing.

The Disaster Management Center said more than 2,900 people have been displaced.

The military used large armored vehicles and boats to transport people to safety. But some remained trapped in interior villages where boats have been unable to reach.

At an intersection close to Agalawatte, 98 kilometers (60 miles) south of capital Colombo, four bodies in coffins were kept in a house, awaiting boats to be taken to a temple where displaced people have taken refuge.

Residents of Wehangalla village near Agalawatte were marooned as floodwaters swamped most of the buildings up to the roof. They had fled to higher terrain but four people among them died in a mudslide and three others are missing. They complained that government aid still had not reached the area and they were surviving on food provided by those in nearby villagers.

The Sri Lankan government appealed to the U.N and other countries for help with rescue and relief measures.

Mudslides have become common during the monsoon season in the tropical Indian Ocean island as land has been heavily deforested to grow export crops such as tea and rubber.

Last May, a massive landslide killed more than 100 people in central Sri Lanka.
Monsoon rains kill 12 people in Sri Lanka.