Floods displace more than 30,000 in east Sri Lanka

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Monsoon flooding has forced more than 30,000 people in eastern Sri Lanka from their homes, with many taking refuge in temporary shelters like huts, schools and mosques, officials said on Thursday.

Flooding and ensuing mass displacement are common in Sri Lanka, fuelled by monsoon rains. In December, 175,000 people took refuge in welfare centres and temples in the eastern and central parts of the country following flash floods.

The latest flooding hit the eastern district of Ampara, a largely flat agricultural area with a coastline that was hammered by the 2004 tsunami and where infrastructure has long been neglected because of a protracted war between the state and Tamil Tigers, after heavy rains began on Monday.

"Due to the activation of the northeastern monsoon, 31,042 people have been displaced and of that 10,869 people are in 20 IDP camps," said H. Dharmapriya, assistant director at the National Disaster Management Centre, referring to shelters for Internally Diplaced People.

"The water levels are receding and there are no heavy rains as such at the moment," he added, saying one third of the displaced were in temporarily shelters while the rest were housed with relatives.

The Meteorology Department forecast continued rainfall in coming days, but said it would not be heavy.

Flooding and drought are cyclical in Sri Lanka, where a southern monsoon batters the island between May and September, and a northeastern monsoon runs from December to February.

In early December 20,000 people were displaced in Ampara as a depression over the Bay of Bengal compounded monsoon rains.