Over a week of heavy rain has lashed Sri Lanka, causing floods that have killed at least 22 people and displaced over 5,000 people, a local daily reported on Thursday.

According to the island nation’s Disaster Management Centre (DMC), “more than 5,000 people have been displaced from their homes and have taken shelter in relatives’ homes or government-run relief centers, while overall 62,200 people belonging to 17,481 families have been affected.”

- Most deaths have occurred due to drowning and lightning strikes - the Daily Express reported, citing a DMC statement.

The center said the heavy rainfall was caused by a “low-pressure area in the southeast Bay of Bengal.”

At least 17 districts were “hard hit by heavy rains, floods, and landslides which completely destroyed 18 houses while 960 dwellings had sustained partial damages.”

In Sri Lanka, the northeastern monsoon season usually lasts from October through November. This year, though, most sections of the country have seen higher-than-average rainfall.