Colombo — AFP — At least 40 people have been killed by floods and landslides caused by heavy rains that have been battering Sri Lanka for a week, the Disaster Management Center said Thursday. According to the same source, four others died under similar circumstances in the adjacent Nuwara Eliya district. The agency reported that the worst damage occurred in the central Badulla region, where 21 people were buried alive in their homes Wednesday night due to massive amounts of soil washed down from the mountains by the downpour. As is the case every year, 425 homes have been destroyed or damaged across the island, and more than 1,800 families have been housed in emergency shelters. The Disaster Management Center also added that 21 people were still missing as of Thursday.