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Asia

73 dead, scores missing in weeklong Sri Lanka storms

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    Sri Lankan flood victims ask for bottles of drinking water in the flooded area of Wellampitiya on the outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, May 20, 2016.Hundreds of boats plied deep floodwaters that have inundated thousands of homes in the Sri Lankan capital, delivering aid and rescuing the elderly and sick from rooftops as forecasters warned of more heavy rain.(AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) (The Associated Press)

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    Sri Lankan flood victims ask for drinking water bottles in the flooded area of Wellampitiya on the outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, May 20, 2016.Hundreds of boats plied deep floodwaters that have inundated thousands of homes in the Sri Lankan capital, delivering aid and rescuing the elderly and sick from rooftops as forecasters warned of more heavy rain. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) (The Associated Press)

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    A Sri Lankan man sits on top of a partially submerged wall in Wellampitiya, outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, May 20, 2016. Hundreds of boats plied deep floodwaters that have inundated thousands of homes in the Sri Lankan capital, delivering aid and rescuing the elderly and sick from rooftops as forecasters warned of more heavy rain. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) (The Associated Press)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka's government has raised the death toll from landslides and heavy flooding around the island nation to 73, as soldiers continue searching for scores of people missing since deadly landslides struck hill country several days ago.

In the capital, Colombo, and its suburbs, thousands of homes remained inundated Saturday, though there were signs of the waters receding. About 243,000 people remained in temporary shelters nationwide.

Soldiers looked for bodies among thick mud deposits in the central district of Kegalle, where landslides swallowed up three villages on Tuesday.

Maj. Gen. Sudantha Ranasinghe, who is coordinating the search, said one body and parts of another were found Saturday. Twenty-one people have been confirmed dead from the landslides in the three villages and 123 others are missing.