Sri Lanka has made an appeal for international assistance as the death toll from heavy rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah rose to 123, with another 130 reported missing.

The extreme weather system has destroyed nearly 15,000 homes across the country, sending almost 44,000 people to state-run temporary shelters, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said on Saturday.

Although Cyclone Ditwah was heading towards neighbouring India to the north on Saturday, more landslides have hit the central district of Kandy, 115km (70 miles) east of the capital Colombo, with the main access road under water at several locations.

DMC Director-General Sampath Kotuwegoda said relief operations had been strengthened with the deployment of thousands of members of the army, navy and air force as he

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