At least one man was struck down by lightning and killed while a woman was injured when her house collapsed, disaster management officials said.

The authorities set up 12 temporary shelters in and around the capital to accommodate the victims of the heaviest rains since June 1992.

The national assembly was flooded, forcing parliamentary Speaker Chamal Rajapakse to take a boat to inspect the building, located on an island in a man-made lake, which is usually reached by a causeway. [ YAHOO NEWS ]