The Sri Lankan capital Colombo was crippled by torrential rains which lashed the city since late evening Wednesday.

The weather officials said that traffic came to a standstill on Thursday morning as most roads in the city and suburbs were under several feet of water.

The city and the suburbs recorded the highest rainfall in 18 years with 400 millimeters of rain during a period of 12 hours.

Meteorological and police officials said the rains were likely to continue until at least noon local time (0630 GMT) and the flash floods should take longer to recede.

Hundreds of people have been displaced due to the flash floods. The school authorities have been authorized to make decisions on whether to continue the schools.

Railway officials said all morning services have been put on hold until tracks could be cleared of the trees and debris washed into the tracks by floods.