Three people killed and 7,000 forced to leave homes as heavy rainfall causes floods in Sri Lanka

At least three people drowned in Sri Lanka as heavy rains sparked floods in the capital Colombo and other regions of the island nation.

Heavy downpours over the weekend wreaked havoc, flooding homes, fields and roads, and affecting over 158,000 people in at least 12 districts, authorities said.

The government closed all schools in the capital and its suburbs on Monday as heavy rainfall continued to batter the island.

The rains and floods damaged 240 houses and forced nearly 7,000 people to leave their homes, the disaster management centre said.

One of the three people who drowned was paddling a canoe through floodwaters in the suburbs of Colombo when he fell over, local media reports said.

Rainfall above 100mm was expected in Sabaragamuwa, Western, Northwestern and Northern Provinces as well in the Galle and Matara districts, the meteorological department said.

At least eight navy flood relief teams were working with the army to rescue victims and provide food and other essentials in Gampaha, Colombo and Puttalam districts.

The country's newly elected president Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced the release of Rs50m (£130,668) to provide relief to the affected people.

Atula Karunanayake, director general of the meteorology department, said the formation of a low-pressure Intertropical Convergence Zone was the reason behind the late monsoon rainfall.

He told BBC Sinhala that the "turbulent nature of the atmosphere that affected the island's weather is currently moving away from the island" but the rainy weather was likely to last until 17 October.

"One of the special features of this rain is that it rains heavily in a short period of time. Many areas may receive more than 100mm of rain," Mr Karunanayake said.

"Strong winds will occur temporarily. Besides, there is a risk of lightning accidents."

Sri Lanka has been grappling with severe weather conditions since May, mostly caused by the monsoon. Floods and mudslides in June killed at least 16 people in the country.