120,000 Sri Lankans Fear Flood's Ghost
At least 120,000 Sri Lankans spent a fourth day sheltering in schools and temples on Friday, December 17, 2004, as monsoon floods spread in the island's east and an eighth person was killed, buried in an earth slip. About 1,200 residents of the small coastal village of Sithanddy, near the eastern town of Batticaloa, were holed up in a school after a rainy day. People in the school are relying on food from aid groups. More than 270 homes in the area are submerged.