Sri Lanka’s death toll from floods and landslides rose to 69 on 28 November 2025 as heavy rain continued to batter the island, the Disaster Management Centre said. Another 34 people were reported missing as officials warned that conditions were still deteriorating.
The worst damage was concentrated in the central hill country, especially the tea-growing districts of Badulla and Nuwara Eliya, where more than 25 people were killed in landslides on Thursday alone. The Disaster Management Centre said 14 others were injured in those areas and 21 remained missing. But the toll was not confined to the central highlands: other deaths were reported in landslides elsewhere in the country, showing how widely the storm system had spread its impact.
Authorities responded by closing all government offices and schools on Friday. They also stopped passenger trains and shut roads in many parts of the country after rocks, mud and trees fell across transport routes and floodwater covered stretches of rail and roadway. Some regions received 36 centimetres of rain in 24 hours, an extraordinary amount that overwhelmed reservoirs, rivers and drainage systems.
The Disaster Management Centre said the flood levels could end up worse than in 2016, when 71 people were killed nationwide. That warning suggests the current disaster may not yet have reached its final toll, especially with rescue and recovery efforts continuing in the hardest-hit districts. Images and reports from the ground showed military and emergency crews using helicopters and boats to reach stranded residents, including people trapped on rooftops.
One resident outside Colombo described the flooding as potentially the worst in decades, a reminder that the disaster is affecting both the mountainous interior and low-lying areas around the capital. The combination of landslides, flooding and transport disruption has created a nationwide emergency in which families are searching for missing relatives while officials try to keep roads, rail and public services functioning.
The figures in the packet show the scale of the event clearly: dozens dead, dozens missing, schools shut, offices closed and transport cut off across a broad stretch of the island. The central highlands, where steep terrain and saturated ground make landslides particularly dangerous, have borne the heaviest loss so far.
With more rain forecast and many roads still blocked, the immediate challenge for Sri Lanka is not only rescue but access. Officials must keep reaching isolated communities, treat the injured and account for the missing while trying to prevent the weather emergency from becoming even more severe.
