UPDATE - Massive floods kill 12, displace hundreds of thousands in Sri Lanka

UPDATES WITH FRESH CASUALTIES, CHANGES HEADER AND LEDE

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) - The death toll from massive floods in Sri Lanka jumped to 12 as another eight people lost their lives due to flooding and landslides, authorities said on Thursday.

Among the deceased, eight are from the Ampara district of the Eastern province, authorities said, adding that 17 people have been injured.

Rescuers on Thursday recovered the bodies of four drowned children as hundreds of thousands have been displaced by massive floods in at least 10 districts of the Island country.

According to Sri Lankan government figures, over 270,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in the Northern and the Eastern provinces due to floods.

Floods also inundated several key roads across the two provinces, local English daily Tamil Guardian reported.

The government has asked the army to help in relief operations.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed officials to deliver relief services to people in the disaster-affected areas.

Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre said some 276,000 people were seeking temporary shelter in public buildings after their homes were swamped.

The disaster center said search teams were still looking for two missing children and two men, who were also swept away by flash floods.

Deadly rain-related floods and landslides are common across South Asia, but experts say climate change is increasing their frequency and severity.