Colombo: Naval boats and helicopters scoured seas off Sri Lanka on Monday for dozensof missing fishermen, as the death toll from strong monsoon rains and windsrose to 31, an official said.
The dead fishermen werelisted as missing since the monsoon hit the island early on Saturday,destroying more than 100 houses, according to the Disaster Management Centre(DMC).
"We continue to lookfor missing people," DMC spokesman Sarath Lal Kumara told AFP. "Thenavy and the airforce are leading the search and rescue operations."
The death toll rose from 27to 31, with all of those, except one, fishermen caught in rough seas, DMCfigures show. Another 35 people have been injured, according to the DMC.
More than 100 houses havebeen completely destroyed and another 2,185 partially damaged due to strongwinds, the figures show.
The weather has improvedsince Sunday, the department of meteorology said. The monsoon hits the countrytwice a year bringing much-needed rain, but also frequently causes loss of lifeand damage to property.
Seven people were killed inthe country last month when a tropical cyclone brushed the eastern coast.