Sri Lanka closes offices and schools as death toll from landslides and floods rises to 56

 Sri Lanka closed government offices and schools on Friday as the death toll from floods and landslides across the country rose to 56 while more than 600 houses were damaged, officials said.Sri Lanka began grappling with severe weather last week and the conditions worsened Thursday with heavy downpours that flooded homes, fields and roads, and triggered landslides across the country.

More than 25 people were killed Thursday in landslides in the central mountainous tea-growing regions of Badulla and Nuwara Eliya, which is about 300 kilometers (186 miles) east of the capital, Colombo. Another 21 people were missing and 14 were injured in the Badulla and Nuwara Eliya areas, according to the government’s disaster management center.Others died in landslides in different parts of the country.

As the weather conditions grew worse, the government announced the closing of all government offices and schools on Friday.Due to heavy rains, most reservoirs and rivers have overflowed, blocking roads. Authorities stopped passenger trains and closed roads in many parts of the country after rocks, mud and trees fell on roads and railway tracks, which were also flooded in some areas.

Local television showed an air force helicopter rescuing three people stranded on the roof of a house surrounded by floods Thursday, while the navy and police used boats to transport residents.Footage on Thursday also showed a car being swept away by floodwaters near the eastern town of Ampara, leaving three passengers dead.