Heavy Rain Triggers Floods and Landslides, Killing 40 in Sri Lanka

Residents wade through a flooded street during heavy rainfall in Puttalam on 27 November 2025.

At least 40 people have died and 10 others were injured as floods and landslides swept across Sri Lanka this week, authorities reported Thursday. Another 21 people remain missing.

The central tea-growing district of Badulla was hardest hit, where 21 people were buried when mountain slopes collapsed onto their homes overnight, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said. Four more deaths were reported in the neighboring Nuwara Eliya district, with additional fatalities elsewhere.

Over 425 homes were damaged by mudslides, forcing nearly 1,800 families into temporary shelters. Rising river levels prompted the DMC to warn residents in low-lying areas to move to higher ground.

Sri Lanka is in the midst of its northeast monsoon season, but heavy rains intensified due to a depression east of the island. Nationwide final-year school exams were suspended for two days, and parliament postponed a budget debate so legislators could attend to affected constituencies.

Rainfall of more than 100 millimetres is expected across the country, with some northeastern areas forecast to receive up to 250 millimetres on Thursday.

This week’s death toll is the highest from weather-related disasters since June last year, when 26 people died. Experts warn that climate change is likely increasing the frequency and severity of such floods and landslides in Sri Lanka.