The widespread flooding in the south and east of Sri Lanka has caused 17 deaths and forced thousands of residents to leave homes.

The flooding occurred after rivers overflowed after days of heavy rain.

According to news sources, four members of the same family were killed on Saturday when their house was crushed by a mound of earth in Kegalle district, about 85 kilometers (53 miles) east of the capital, Colombo.

 The National Disaster Management Centre has revealed that around 270,000  people have been affected by the flooding and some 100,000 buildings have suffered power cuts.

 The rainfall was expected to diminish but it continued, revealed the country’s meteorological department.

The country is aslso struggling to cope with a potential environmental disaster after a ship carrying 25 tons of nitric acid and raw materials for plastic caught fire and began to sink off its coast.