At least 31 people have been killed and 14 others are missing after intense monsoon rains battered Sri Lanka this week, triggering devastating landslides and widespread flooding, authorities confirmed on Thursday.

The central tea-growing highlands were hardest hit. In the Badulla district, 16 people were buried alive when mountain slopes collapsed onto their homes overnight. Another four fatalities were reported in a similar landslide in the adjoining Nuwara Eliya district.

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) reported that nearly 400 homes have been damaged by mudslides, forcing over 1,100 families to evacuate to temporary shelters. With river levels continuing to rise across the island, the DMC has issued warnings for residents in low-lying areas to move to higher ground.

The severe weather, intensified by a depression system east of the island, has disrupted daily life nationwide. The government has taken the step of suspending final year school examinations for two days as a safety precaution.

Meteorological officials forecast more than 100 millimetres of rainfall across the country, with deluges of up to 250 millimetres expected in the northeast on Thursday.

This week's death toll marks the highest from weather-related disasters in Sri Lanka since June of the previous year. The island nation depends on monsoon rains for agriculture and power generation, but experts warn that climate change is leading to more frequent and extreme flooding events. (ILKHA)