Thousands took to relief camps in Sri Lanka and southern India on Saturday to escape rising floodwaters after a cyclone killed at least 26 people. Cyclone Ockhi has left 13 people dead in Sri Lanka and killed an equal number in India's Kerala and Tamil Nadu states since Friday as it churns in the Arabian Sea. Eleven people, mostly fishermen, remained missing in the two countries as nearly 9,000 people sought shelter in relief camps.
Scores of localites suffered flooding and cut power and telephone lines as winds of up to 130 kilometres (80 miles) per hour swept the region. Weather experts warned of more heavy rains to come, as the water level rose in several rivers in southern India. The tiny Indian island of Lakshadweep off the country's western coast braced for winds of 145 kilometres (90 miles) per hour.
The Sri Lankan disaster management centre said 77,000 people in 16 districts have been affected, with the highest number in the southern Galle district. Nearly 4,000 people are in Sri Lankan relief camps amid widespread destruction of property. Authorities are on red alert in coastal areas, with five deaths already reported in Kanyakumari on the southern tip of India.
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