Reuters, Colombo

Heavy rains on Sri Lanka’s coast and in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu have killed at least 25 people, destroyed thousands of homes and snarled traffic, authorities said.

In Sri Lanka, 20 people have died in recent days, most from drowning, while five were hurt in landslides, officials said yesterday.

“Given the prevalence of Covid-19, the government has encouraged over a thousand families to move in with relatives to reduce the strain on government-run centres,” said Sudantha Ranasinghe, head of Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre.

The low pressure depression behind the rains was expected to move towards Tamil Nadu this evening, Sri Lanka’s weather office said. Five people have already died in the state whose capital Chennai is India’s automobile manufacturing centre.