Floods, strong winds claim 18 lives in Lanka

Heavy rains and strong winds have left at least 18 dead in Sri Lanka over three days, officials said yesterday.More than 20,000 houses have been damaged and more than 70,000 affected in mostly the western and southern parts of the country while water levels continued to rise in major rivers, the Disaster Management Centre said.Nearly 4,000 people are in relief camps amid widespread destruction of property.Among those killed was a Ukrainian national who was washed away in the southern coastal area of Galle, a popular tourist destination.More than half a million electricity connections to residents were still disrupted while welfare centres have been set up to accommodate displaced persons.The government has offered relief, including food, while more than 3,000 security personnel have been deployed to help affected people.The meteorological department said that adverse weather conditions caused by Cyclone Ockhi were moving away from the island, towards the Arabian Sea and the weather is expected to increase by today.In May this year more than 200 people were killed in landslides and floods in the western and southern provinces while 600,000 persons were affected.A worker is seen fixing an electricity line after it was damaged by storm in Colombo, yesterday.