COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — At least nine people were killed in mudslides triggered by heavy rains in the central hills of Sri Lanka on Friday, officials said.
More than 60,000 people have been evacuated and 3,000 homes destroyed as floods and mudslides have covered many parts of the Indian Ocean island in the last four days, disaster officials said.
Nine people were killed in mudslides Friday in the tea-growing Badulla district, said Pradeep Kodippili, a spokesman at the state disaster management center.
The inclement weather has so far affected more than 500,000 people across the country.
The meteorology department has warned that thundershowers and heavy rains will occur in many parts of the country and asked people in the coastal areas to be vigilant.
It is monsoon season in some parts of Sri Lanka, but many other areas not normally affected are also experiencing nonseasonal rains.
Dozens of people were killed in October when mudslides buried homes of tea plantation workers in the country’s central hills.
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