Sri Lanka flood death toll reaches 146 amid mudslides

A man stands on top of the debris of a house at a landslide site during a rescue mission in Athwelthota village, in Kalutara, Sri Lanka. Dinuka Liyanawatte / Reuters

Sri Lankan residents walk through a flooded area of Kaduwela. Emergency teams rushed to distribute aid to half a million Sri Lankans displaced after the island's worst flooding in more than a decade claimed 126 lives and left scores more missing. AFP

A Sri Lankan army soldier stands near the debris of a house at a landslide site during a rescue mission in Athwelthota village, in Kalutara, Sri Lanka. Dinuka Liyanawatte / Reuters

COLOMBO // Sri Lankan rescuers pulled more bodies from beneath mudslides on Sunday as the toll rose to 146 dead and 112 missing.

Although the weather cleared, more rains were forecast for Sunday and Monday, threatening more misery for more than 100,000 people displaced in the country’s western and southern regions by two days of torrential rain.

Taking advantage of a lull, soldiers cleared road access to most of the affected areas while others were reachable by boat, said Maj Gen Sudantha Ranasinghe, who is leading a search and rescue mission.

People waded in knee-deep floodwaters to get to army trucks transporting relief supplies and taking the displaced to safety.

Maj Gen Ranasinghe said he did not expect to find more survivors.

The United Nations said it was assisting in relief efforts in response to a government appeal. It also promised to donate water purification tablets, tents and other supplies.

India sent a shipload of goods, while the United States and Pakistan also promised consignments of relief supplies.

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

Last May, a landslide killed more than 100 people in central Sri Lanka.

* Associated Press