COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka closed schools in its tea-growing mountainous regions Tuesday as heavy rains triggered floods and mudslides that left five people dead and three wounded, officials said.
Heavy downpours over the last two days have wreaked havoc in many parts of the country, flooding homes, fields and roads. The mountainous areas in the country’s central region are the worst affected by the severe weather, according to the government’s Disaster Management Center.
So far, five people have died after being buried in mudslides that overran two houses in the central region, while three others were wounded and two people have gone missing, said Pradeep Kodippili, the center's spokesperson.
Kodippili said rains and floods damaged 129 houses and that nearly 2,000 people were evacuated.
Navy and army troops have been deployed to rescue people trapped in the floods and help them move to safe places.
Local television channel Hiru TV showed troops and civilians rescuing people trapped in their homes because of the floods and facing the risk of being buried by mudflows.
Local channels also showed huge rocks, mudslides and fallen electric posts on several main roads in the central region, blocking traffic in some parts of the area.
The latest disaster comes as the country is still trying to recover from the devastation in November caused by Cyclone Ditwa that killed nearly 640 people, affected two million people and caused an estimated $4.1 billion in damage.
The Central province was the hardest hit by that cyclone and the government is struggling to rebuild roads, railways and houses in the region.
Mudslides and floods are among the most destructive natural disasters, causing severe damage to lives and property in Sri Lanka every year. Heavy monsoon rains mostly trigger mudslides in the central hill region while flooding low-lying areas, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes.
People walk across a mud covered road following heavy rain in Nawalapitiya, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo)
People clean a stretch of a road that covered with mud following heavy rain in Nawalapitiya, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo)
People walk across a mud covered road following heavy rain in Nawalapitiya, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is making a rare visit to California and Nevada this week to try to draw contrasts with Democrats on the economy, border security and crime, seeking to shore up support for Republicans in November elections that will determine whether his party keeps control of Congress.
The Republican president has struggled to connect with voters on the economy as elevated inflation and feelings of uncertainty have overshadowed the stock market gains he often talks about along with a low national unemployment rate.
Trump will visit the Los Angeles area on Tuesday to speak at a fundraising dinner for the Republican National Committee at a golf club his family owns in the suburb of Rancho Palos Verdes. On Wednesday, Trump will discuss the economy during an event at Red Rock casino in Las Vegas.
Only 32% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s handling of the economy in an AP-NORC poll conducted in late July. In the same poll, most Americans, 69%, characterized the state of the economy as “poor,” and many said the cost of everyday essentials like groceries and gas was a “major” source of stress in their lives.
Trump’s overall approval rating is at 33%, slightly below where he stood at this point in his first term.
During the trip, Trump is likely to throw barbs at California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat eyed as a likely candidate for his party’s presidential nomination in 2028. Newsom has become one of the president’s highest-profile opponents.
White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said the president plans to “draw a sharp contrast between his commonsense agenda and the radical policies of Democrats like Gavin Newsom," touting his own efforts to cut taxes, reduce fraud in government programs, and crack down on immigration and crime.
California was one of Trump's first domestic stops after returning to office in January 2025. He surveyed the aftermath of wildfires that had wiped out whole neighborhoods of Los Angeles County, left thousands of people homeless and killed more than two dozen.
Newsom greeted Trump at the airport on that trip, and they chatted amiably and gestured toward cooperation despite a bitter history. But the comity did not last. Six months later, Newsom argued in a speech that “democracy is under assault” by Trump after the president sent National Guard troops and U.S. Marines into Los Angeles without Newsom's consent. This came after protests following a series of immigration raids by federal authorities.
Trump routinely mocks Newsom and refers to the governor using a derogatory nickname, while Newsom taunts the president with frequent social media posts.
The Democrat wrote on social media on Monday that California is raising its minimum wage next year to $17.40 an hour, more than double the federal minimum wage of $7.25.
“Donald Trump and the GOP are still defending a $7.25 minimum wage while workers scrape by. Pitiful,” Newsom wrote.
Nevada, where Trump will be on Wednesday, is led by a Republican governor, Joe Lombardo, who faces Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford in a battle for reelection in November. The contest is considered one of the most competitive governor’s races in the country.
The Nevada State Democratic Party is putting up billboard signs about Trump’s visit that tie him to Lombardo and higher costs. The state is grappling with a shortage of affordable housing, exploding energy demand from artificial intelligence data centers and federal cuts to key state programs.
Trump has tried for several months to sell voters on his income tax cuts and claims of a manufacturing renaissance. But interest rates are high, a gallon of gasoline costs more because of the Iran war, tariffs are still reshaping the economy and by the White House’s own estimates there is a national shortage of housing.
The president called his own housing bill a “yawn,” and past speeches advertised by the White House as being about the economy, including one he delivered at a General Motors facility in Michigan last week, gave way to Trumpian weaves about his political enemies and construction projects in the nation's capital.
Associated Press writers Josh Boak in Washington and Jessica Hill in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump walks to board Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport, in Morristown, N.J., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, en route to return to Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
