Sri Lanka, Nov. 28 -- Sri Lankan troops were racing to rescue hundreds of people marooned by rising floodwaters on Friday as weather-related deaths rose to 69, with another 34 people declared missing.

It said the toll had climbed with the recovery of more bodies in the worst-affected central region, where most victims had been buried alive as mudslides hit this week.

Disaster Management Centre (DMC) officials said that 69 disaster deaths have been reported due to the adverse weather conditions that have affected all 25 districts of the island over the past couple of days.

The DMC also states that 34 people are reported missing, and a total of 219,282 people belonging to 61,175 families have been affected by the adverse weather.

It sai...