Sri Lanka floods kill 14

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Sri Lanka floods kill 14

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Floods strike Sri Lanka for the second time in less than a month, leaving at least 14 dead and affecting over a million residents.

08 February,2011 08:09 pm

Over a million people have been affected -- and 320 thousand have been forced to relocate to temporary shelters -- as severe floods sweep the nation for the second time in less than a month. Around 1800 houses have been destroyed and another 11,400 have been damaged. The agriculture ministry says more than 90 percent of crops across Eastern, Northern and Central parts of the country have been destroyed -- a big hit for a country that cultivates 570 thousand hectares of paddy twice a year. Januarys floods killed over 40 people and forced as many as 325 thousand from their homes. Floods are common in Sri Lanka, where a southern monsoon batters the island nation between May and September, and a northeastern monsoon runs from December to February.