Sri Lanka deploys troops as flood waters rise; death toll hits 69

Sri Lankan troops were racing to rescue hundreds of people marooned by rising flood waters on Nov 28 as weather-related deaths rose to 69, with another 34 people declared missing.

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Helicopters and navy boats carried out multiple rescue operations, plucking residents from tree tops, roofs and villages cut off by flood waters.

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said the toll had climbed with the recovery of more bodies in the worst affected central region, where most victims were buried alive as mudslides hit.