At least 56 dead as severe floods hit Sri Lanka

At least 56 people have been killed and 21 are missing in Sri Lanka after floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains wreaked havoc this week, in one of its worst weather related disasters the country has seen in recent years.

Twenty-one people were killed in the central tea-growing district of Badulla when a landslide crashed onto their homes overnight, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said in a statement.

Cyclone Ditwah brushed the island nation's eastern coast on Friday, brining more rains.

Videos uploaded to social media show houses being washed away as flood waters cascade through towns, while most train services have been cancelled across the country.

Ditwa began as a deep depression but later intensified into a cyclone.

In Sri Lanka, river levels are continuing to rise and the DMC has warned residents in low-lying areas to move to higher ground. A red level flood warning has been issued for the low-lying areas of the Kelani River valley within the next 48 hours, the Irrigation Department said. Areas at risk include the capital, Colombo.

During a parliamentary session on Friday, Sri Lankan MP Ajith Perera raised concerns about an emergency situation reportedly involving a stranded bus.

"I have been getting multiple reports of a bus that has been stranded near the Kala Wewa [a major reservoir complex in central Sri Lanka] for one and a half hours," he said, urging the government to facilitate the approval of a helicopter to rescue the passengers.

In response, Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara confirmed that the bus was stranded. He told lawmakers that police had instructed the bus to halt its journey because conditions were too dangerous to continue.

Armed forces had already been deployed, and a helicopter had been authorised for the rescue, he added.

"They will be rescued," he said.

In Anuradhapura, a military helicopter conducted three operations on Friday morning to rescue people stranded by the adverse weather and the overflow of the Kala Wewa.

The helicopter successfully airlifted a man who had been sheltering atop a coconut tree overnight, the Sri Lankan Air Force said.

More than 200mm (7.8in) of rain is expected in some central and northern parts of the island on Friday, Sri Lanka's met office said.

Key roads connecting provinces have been closed and the Railway Department has announced that all trains, except for a few essential services, have been cancelled from 06:00 on Friday.

The DMC said that almost 44,000 people have been affected by the extreme weather. Around 20,500 army troops have been deployed to provide relief and rescue operations across the country.

Students sitting for the Advanced Level Exams - also known as the A-levels - have also have their exams postponed as a result.

Sri Lanka is currently experiencing its monsoon season but it is rare for the island to see extreme weather on this level.

The worst flooding this century in Sri Lanka was in June 2003 when 254 people were killed and hundreds of thousands were displaced.

The flooding comes as South East Asia is also facing some of the worst floods the region has seen in years, with millions impacted across Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

Indonesian authorities have counted 127 people dead while Thai officials said the death toll there had risen to 145.