Sri Lanka has shut down schools across its central highlands after torrential rains triggered deadly mudslides and flash floods, killing at least seven people and injuring several others. The heavy downpours struck the country’s mountainous tea-growing region, which is still struggling to recover from the devastation of Cyclone Ditwah. Pradeep Kodippili, the spokesperson for the government’s Disaster Management Centre, said that five people died after being buried in mudslides that overran two houses in the central region, and two others were killed in floods. Sri Lanka’s central region, including the districts of Nuwara Eliya and Badulla, sits on steep terrain long recognised as prone to landslides during the monsoon season, when saturated hillsides give way under sustained rainfall. AdvertisementThe recent disaster underscores how repeated bouts of extreme weather are straining Sri Lanka’s disaster response capacity within the same nine-month window.