Weekly wrap-up: Mudslides kill dozens in Sri Lanka; Landslide engulfs part of California's Pacific Coast Highway
Flooding and mudslides have killed more than 160 people and left dozens more missing in Sri Lanka late last week.
The country's Disaster Management Center said more than 438,000 persons are affected by the calamity. The flooding and mudslides were triggered by heavy rain.
Rain inundated western and southern parts of the country on Thursday and Friday, closing roads and schools, according to the Associated Press.
Sri Lankans watch military rescue efforts at the site of a landslide in Bellana village in Kalutara district, Sri Lanka, Friday, May 26, 2017. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Tornadoes wreaked havoc across the eastern United States this week.
Damage was reported from Florida to Ohio as a severe weather outbreak produced tornadoes and high winds.
A tornado destroyed a gymnasium at Courtney Elementary School located near Yadkinville, North Carolina, emergency officials said. No students or teachers were hurt, according to the Associated Press. There were also reports of vehicles flipped over and people trapped in homes in Yadkinville.
Four North Carolina residents suffered injuries as storms moved through Iredell, Davie, Yadkin, Stokes and Union counties while dozens of homes suffered damage, the AP reported.
Strong winds caused damage at an airport in Denton, Texas, just north of Dallas, early Tuesday morning.
Some small airplanes were flipped over amid the storm and hanger doors were blown off, according to NBC DFW. No injuries were reported.
In this Tuesday, May 23, 2017, photo provided by the City of Denton, Texas, small aircraft are shown sitting atop each other after severe weather passed through the area overnight at the Denton Enterprise Airport. (AP Photo/City of Denton, Lindsey N. Baker)
On the West Coast, a massive landslide covered a quarter-mile portion of famed Highway 1 on California's coastline.
The landslide buried a portion of the highway in Big Sur under 40 feet of rocks and mud, weighing more than 1 million tons. The landslide came after one of the wettest winters in California history.
"While the drought-busting precipitation was welcomed across California, the excessive rainfall had devastating impacts," AccuWeather Meteorologist Faith Eherts said. "This resulted in a large number of landslides, flooding and resulting disruptions to power and transportation."
Big Sur is a known tourist spot in California, attracting visitors for its scenic beaches and redwoods. The landslide is the second blow to the central California area as the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge along Highway 1 was badly damaged due to storms earlier this year.
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