COLOMBO: Nearly 60,000 people were left homeless in Sri Lanka on Thursday following flash floods in Colombo and the suburbs. Thousands of homes were flooded on Wednesday, forcing people to seek temporary shelter in public buildings. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Water levels were receding on Thursday but flood victims required shelter until their homes could be cleaned or repaired. On Wednesday, some of the roads in the capital were up to two metres under water as storm systems were unable to cope with the deluge. Many of the roads blocked on Wednesday began to clear on Thursday. The weather office said Wednesday’s deluge was the highest rainfall in Colombo since November 2007 when 27 cm of rain fell.