COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka closed schools on Monday as the death toll due to floods and mudslides triggered by heavy rains in many parts of the island nation, rose to 16 people, officials said.
The education ministry announced that the reopening of schools would depend on how the weather develops.
Heavy downpours have wreaked havoc in many parts of the country since Sunday, flooding homes, fields and roads, and forcing authorities to cut electricity as a precaution.
Twelve people died after being washed away and drowning near the capital, Colombo, and the remote Rathnapura, Matara and Galle districts on Sunday, according to the disaster management center. Three others died when mounds of earth collapsed on their houses, and one person died when a tree fell on him.
Separately, five people were injured when mudslides struck and damaged two houses in Ratnapura, which is about 86 kilometers (53 miles) southeast of Colombo, said the center.
By Monday, over 6,000 people had been moved to evacuation centers and more than 12,000 homes had been damaged, the center said in a statement.
Navy and army troops have been deployed to rescue victims and provide food and other essentials to those affected.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with severe weather conditions since mid-May caused by heavy monsoon rains. Earlier, strong winds downed trees in many areas, killing nine people.
Sri Lanka closes schools as the death toll from floods and mudslides rises to 16
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Sri Lanka closes schools as the death toll from floods and mudslides rises to 16
- Six people died after being washed away and drowning in the capital, Colombo, and the remote Rathnapura district on Sunday, according to the disaster management center
Bulgarians protest widespread graft and call for a fair election
- The latest developments are leaving the European Union member country without a budget for next year
- On Thursday, people insisted on fair and free elections rather than polls compromised by vote manipulation
SOFIA: Tens of thousands of people on Thursday filled the streets of Bulgaria’s capital and other major cities in the country, calling for a fair election and an independent judiciary able to effectively fight widespread corruption.
The demonstrations in Sofia and elsewhere came after last week’s protests sparked by the government’s budget plans for higher taxes and spending increases. The government later withdrew the contentious 2026 budget plan, but eventually bowed to people’s demands and stepped down.
The latest developments are leaving the European Union member country without a budget for next year and without a regular government, just before Bulgaria is set to join the eurozone.
Now, President Rumen Radev is expected to appoint a caretaker government and set the date for the next early vote — the eighth since 2021.
On Thursday, people insisted on fair and free elections rather than polls compromised by vote manipulation, vote-buying and falsification of election results as in the previous campaign.
At the core of the protesters’ frustrations is the role of Bulgarian politician and oligarch Delyan Peevski, who has been sanctioned by both the United States and the United Kingdom, and whose MRF New Beginning party backed the outgoing coalition led by the GERB party of former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.
The Balkan country of 6.4 million people is due to make the switch from its national currency, the lev, to the euro on Jan. 1, to become the eurozone’s 21st member. Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007.
