Seven killed in floods, mudslides in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, May 15, 2013 (AFP) - At least seven people have been killed and two are missing in floods and mudslides following heavy rain across Sri Lanka, the disaster management centre said Wednesday.

Sri Lanka depends on monsoon rains for irrigation and power generation, but the seasonal downpours frequently cause deaths along with damage to property.

A tropical cyclone east of the island did not make landfall but caused unusually heavy rain in the past two days which triggered flash floods, the Disaster Management Centre said.

Five of the dead drowned in flooding while two were buried in mudslides.

Some 13 people have been injured while another 115,000 have been forced to flee flooded homes.

The weather department said rains subsided by Wednesday afternoon as tropical Cyclone Mahasen moved away.

It is now threatening to make landfall between Bangladesh and Myanmar, and hundreds of thousands there have been told to move to safer areas.