Sri Lanka govt deploys troops as storm kills at least seven; more than 20,000 people affected

Colombo: Sri Lanka’s government on Thursday deployed troops to help regions stricken by a major storm which killed seven people with five others missing, authorities said. [caption id=“attachment_4235639” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A worker fixes a damaged power line affected due to bad weather in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters[/caption] Powerful winds and torrential rain battered much of the island late Wednesday, toppling trees and damaging buildings. More than 20,000 people have been affected by the storm, according to disaster management centre spokesman Pradeep Kodippily, who gave the death toll. Two of the missing were on a fishing boat that capsized off the south coast. President Maithripala Sirisena, who is currently on a visit to South Korea, ordered troops to help in the stricken districts. Military spokesman Brigadier Roshan Seneviratne said 2,000 troops had already been deployed. Schools were closed Thursday across southern and central provinces and several flights into the main Colombo airport were diverted to Mattala airport in the south. Power supplies were cut in many districts for several hours after the storm.