Heavy rains since Friday in southwestern Ratnapura and southern Galle and Matara districts have left over 60,000 families displaced, police said.

Landslides caused by flood in several parts of Ratnapura district accounted for over 50 deaths.

"The situation is so bad that we find it difficult to gather information from various parts of the district," said state administrative officer Malani Premaratne.

Residents at Ratnapura said the city was under 4.5 meters of water, forcing the people to move into higher plains and in some cases even tree tops.

The floods forced the blocking of the main highway between the capital Colombo and the central hill town of Badulla, police said.

"The road is impassable, we have warned the motorists to use alternative roads to travel to and from Badulla," a police spokesman said in Colombo.

In the southern Galle district, the town of Udugama was under 6 meters of water.

Director of Social Services S. Millawithanachchi said that the overflowing of the river Nilwala in the deep southern district of Matara has left several areas in the district submerged.

Officials said that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with several government high-ranking officials toured the flooded areas on Sunday.

Airforce helicopters deployed to rescue people in the affected areas encountered bad weather, slowing down their rescue operation.

The naval boats were also used to rescue the displaced in many areas, officials said.

The meteorological officials have predicted more bad weather resulting from cyclonic condition which passed through the northeastern coast last week.

(Xinhua News Agency May 19, 2003)