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Bridge to the past: JR to wrap Pont Neuf again, 40 years after artistic forebears

The enigmatic French artist JR will undertake what he says is his biggest ever challenge next year when he “wraps” Pont Neuf, the oldest standing bridge across the Seine River in Paris, in a tribute to a monumental art project by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. For three weeks next June, the 232-metre (761ft) long bridge will be wrapped in fabric, 40 years after the married artists known for their large-scale, site-specific environmental installations did the same thing. In an exclusive interview with the Guardian in his Paris studio, JR said the project – titled the Pont Neuf Cavern – was “100% the most challenging thing I’ve ever done”. “I love a challenge,” the photographer and street artist said. “I realised this was an opportunity for me to do something that I needed to do and hadn’t been able to do before. “Suddenly, I realised I could actually wrap this bridge and create a real cave in it. “You’re going to see this big rock formation in the middle of the city. It will be really disruptive.” Since the mid-2000s, JR, who is never seen publicly without his aviator sunglasses and black fedora, has brought large-scale photographic projects to cities around the world. His collaborative installations range from trompe l’œil illusions to portraits of people to raise awareness of the marginalised and oppressed. JR’s career began as a teenage graffiti artist and street “tagger” who worked with one eye on the lookout for police. In 2010 the Guardian described him as the “hippest street artist since Banksy”. His work was collected in the 2015 book Can Art Change the World, revised and republished last year with a forward by film director George Lucas. Though no longer entirely anonymous – we know JR stands for Jean-René and he is 42 – he retains an air of mystery despite achieving global fame. Growing up in one of Paris’s banlieue housing estates, JR was only two when Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped Pont Neuf in 1985. “Obviously, I didn’t know about it at the time, and art really came late into my life,” he said. “You have to understand, I really didn’t come from this art world. I was not familiar with it at all. “Much later, when I discovered the work of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, I realised what I had missed. I knew the [Pont Neuf] project had had a major impact on my city and it made me wish I’d been there. “To be asked to do something 40 years later on the same bridge is a huge responsibility but also an incredible moment for me to create something truly mesmerising, to push myself into creating a piece that will also, I hope, make a mark on the city of Paris – and maybe the world – like Christo and Jeanne-Claude did.” Christo was born Christo Vladimirov Javacheff in Bulgaria in 1935, and arrived in Paris in 1957. There he met Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon, his partner and artistic collaborator until her death in 2009. Among their most famous projects was wrapping the Berlin Reichstag in 1995. Christo’s nephew Vladimir Yavachev, director of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation, said he approached JR to mark the anniversary of the original Pont Neuf wrap and has given him an artistic carte blanche on the project. “I was looking for an artist who had been influenced by Christo to have the inspiration for another project and thought of JR. When I called him and asked if he’d be interested, he loved the idea,” Yavachev said. Yavachev oversaw the wrapping of the Arc de Triomphe in 2021, a work Christo had been planning at the time of his death in 2020. Unlike the struggle Christo had to obtain permission from the then mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac, to wrap the bridge in 1985, the current mayor, Anne Hidalgo, agreed immediately – as did the city police chief and the French president, Emmanuel Macron. The Pont Neuf cavern will be open from 6 June to 28 June next year. The bridge will remain open. JR said the technical details of the project, which involves dozens of engineers and hundreds of workers, are still being worked out. “The the critical thing about doing public art is that you can literally see the whole process,” said JR. “So people will be able to see every single step. There’ll be nothing hidden from them. Everything will be in the open.” As for how much the project, which is being paid from private funds, will cost, Yavachev said: “Jeanne-Claude used to say it will cost what it has to cost.” “That’s good man. That’s a great answer,” JC said.

Can you have a community without craic? Scholars of Ireland’s pubs warn of declining numbers

Like triple-distilled whiskey, Irish pubs appear to have timeless appeal. They are staple setting in films, books and plays, draw tourists to Ireland, replicate themselves around the world and induce social media quests for the perfect snug and the perfect pint. Scholars have now bestowed academic imprimatur on this cultural treasure status by examining – and celebrating – pubs through the lens of history, sociology, architecture, psychology, design, art and literature. Two new books, The Irish Pub: Invention and Reinvention, and The Dublin Pub: A Social and Cultural History, brim with footnotes, data and lore as they analyse what makes a “perfect pub” and the mysterious alchemy that produces “craic”. However, in each case the authors come to a sobering conclusion: Irish pubs are in trouble. They are vanishing from rural Ireland and many are struggling to survive in the capital. “It feels like a moment of transition,” said Donal Fallon, author of The Dublin Pub. “Every Dubliner should drive through rural towns to see what’s happening. The pub has been knocked off its perch.” Some villages have lost all their pubs and new housing developments often omit pubs, said Perry Share, a co-editor of The Irish Pub, a collection of essays by 20 writers. “Planners are not insisting that pubs be put in. That could create problems in future in terms of loneliness and community cohesion.” Since 2005, Ireland has lost a quarter of its pubs, more than 2,100, averaging 112 closures a year. Cited reasons include high taxes on alcohol, drink-driving laws, rising property prices and a fall in alcohol consumption. It is a global phenomenon – traditional bars are shuttering across Britain and much of Europe and Asia – but for Ireland the stakes are particularly high, said Share, who heads the school of social science and humanities at Atlantic Technological University. “Our society is becoming segmented into different interest groups so it’s important to have these places to interact across class and gender lines,” he said. “In the pub it’s OK to express emotion in a certain way and to grab someone and hug them.” Just over half of the population live within 300 metres of Ireland’s remaining 7,000 pubs, and, Share said, pubs remained central to expressions of Irish culture, such as in novels by authors including Sally Rooney and Paul Murray, TV shows such as Trespasses, and Hollywood depictions of Ireland. “Even if declining, the pub is still part of the fabric of everyday life. If it does disappear it’s a real loss. People talk of alternatives, like coffee shops, but no one says they had great craic in the coffee shop,” he said. The volume Share co-edited with Moonyoung Hong, a professor of English at the University of Hong Kong, ranges over the evolution of taverns in the era of Jonathan Swift, the emergence of gay pubs in the 20th century, and the export of Irish-themed pubs from Nepal to Peru. An essay by Kevin Martin – the author of a previous volume on pubs titled Have Ye No Homes to Go To? – identifies 10 elements for an ideal pub, including “a great pint of Guinness at a decent price” and “convivial company when required, and peace when not”. Social media influencers chronicle searches for “the best” Irish pub on Instagram and other platforms but Fallon, a social historian, said that missed the point: “This veneration of a handful of places, this ranking system, is often driven by aesthetics rather than any appreciation of what the pub is. Something doesn’t have to be the best to be important. It has to be part of its community. If you’ve had the worst day in your life the nearest pub is probably the best pub.” Fallon’s book uncovers colourful tales involving figures such as the American photographer Lee Miller, who photographed the Palace bar while on assignment in Dublin for Vogue in the 1940s, but also explores and toasts unsung, nondescript suburban pubs. Fallon notes the word pub stems from public house. “There is real warmth in that term. It implies a shared space and a living space. It captures the collective sense of what a pub is.”

Ukraine war briefing: Ukrainians fly to US for peace talks with Rubio, Witkoff and Kushner

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet with Ukrainian negotiators in Florida on Sunday for talks on Washington’s plan to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, a US official said. Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced earlier on Saturday that a delegation was en route to the US for this purpose. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will also attend the meeting. “Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine and head of the Ukrainian delegation Rustem Umerov, together with the team, is already on the way to the United States,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X. The meeting will take place without Zelensky’s top aide Andriy Yermak, who resigned on Friday after anti-corruption agencies conducted searches at his apartment. Russian officials said earlier that Witkoff planned to travel to Moscow next week, echoing Trump’s words that he would send his envoy to Russia to meet with Putin to discuss a “fine-tuned” peace plan. President Emmanuel Macron will on Monday host Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks in Paris, with France raising the prospect of imposing new sanctions on Russia to “exhaust its economy”. The two leaders will discuss “the conditions for a just and lasting peace”, the French foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, said on Saturday. “We will welcome President Zelensky to Paris on Monday to move the negotiations forward,” Barrot said in comments to the La Tribune Dimanche newspaper to be published on Sunday. “Peace is within reach, if (Russian President) Vladimir Putin abandons his delusional hope of reconstituting the Soviet empire by first subjugating Ukraine,” he added. In a warning to Moscow, Barrot added: “Vladimir Putin must accept the ceasefire or accept exposing Russia to new sanctions that will exhaust its economy, as well as intensified European support for Ukraine.” Ukrainian naval drones hit two tankers operating under sanctions in the Black Sea as they headed to a Russian port to load up with oil destined for foreign markets, an official said on Saturday. The two oil tankers, identified as the Kairos and Virat, were empty and sailing to Novorossiysk, a major Russian Black Sea oil terminal, the official said. The strikes on the tankers represent a different kind of attack. Ukraine has been attacking Russian oil refineries for months, but using long-range aerial drones to strike far behind the frontlines. Kyiv has repeatedly called on the west to take action against Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet”, which the Ukrainian government says is helping Moscow export large quantities of oil to fund its war. Six people were killed and dozens were wounded by a Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine. Nearly 600 drones and 36 rockets were fired into the country, Dan Sabbagh and Jane Clinton report. The attack cut power to the western half of the city, leaving at least 500,000 residents without electricity. Emergency crews have restored power to more than 400,000 households. Two waves of attacks could be heard across the capital, the first starting at about 1am and the second at about 7am before an all-clear was given just before 9.30am. Moldova closed its airspace for about an hour overnight after a drone incursion that its president denounced on Saturday, accusing Russia of flying across the country to attack Ukraine. Earlier this week, Moldova said a drone had crashed on its soil, with six drones in total overflying its territory. The defence ministry said in a statement on Saturday airspace had been “closed for approximately one hour and 10 minutes” just before 11:00pm local time on Friday (2100 GMT). The ministry said the “emergency measure” came after two unidentified drones illegally flew over Moldovan territory, “creating a direct threat to aviation safety”.

Six dead and dozens wounded in Russian attack on Ukraine

Six people were killed and dozens were wounded by a Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine. Nearly 600 drones and 36 rockets were fired into the country in an attack that its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said highlighted Ukraine’s need for western help with air defence, as well as other financial and political support. “We must work without wasting a single day to ensure that there are enough missiles for our air defence systems, and that everything necessary for our protection and for pressure on Russia is in place,” Zelenskyy said. Ukraine’s state emergency services said two people died in the overnight attack in Kyiv and 38 were injured. The attack cut power to the western half of the city, leaving at least 500,000 residents without electricity. Emergency crews have restored power to more than 400,000 households. Regional officials and police said one person had died in the region surrounding the capital, two in south-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region and one in a midday attack in Kherson region in the south. “While everyone is discussing points of peace plans, Russia continues to pursue its ‘war plan’ of two points: to kill and destroy,” Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, wrote on Saturday morning as Kyiv residents surveyed the damage after a heavy night of explosions that mostly targeted the capital. Two waves of attacks could be heard across the capital, the first starting at about 1am and the second at about 7am before an all-clear was given just before 9.30am. Ukraine’s military said it had struck the Afipsky oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai, one of the largest in southern Russia, causing a fire at the plant. The site supplies diesel and jet fuel to Russian forces fighting in Ukraine. Russia is engaged in a campaign to break Ukraine’s civil resistance this winter by attacking its energy infrastructure as the war heads towards its fourth year. The attacks come as a series of key Ukrainian political figures have been embroiled in a corruption scandal. On Friday, Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, was forced to resign after his flat was searched by anti-corruption officials investigating a kickback scheme. Two other ministers have already been fired and the scheme’s alleged architect, an old friend of Zelenskyy, has fled the country. Zelenskyy said on Friday that he would restructure the office of the president – which Yermak ran as a gatekeeper to the leader – amid speculation as to who might lead it or how it could be reorganised. An opposition MP called for the president to appoint Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK and the former head of the armed forces. Liudmyla Buimister, a Ukrainian politician, wrote in a social media post that “a man trusted by the military, citizens and international partners is exactly what we need now”. Zaluzhnyi has been considered a potential political challenger to Zelenskyy, though allies of the ambassador said on Saturday they were unsure he would agree if asked. Overnight, Yermak told the New York Post: “I’m going to the front and am prepared for any reprisals.” However, it was unclear how he might serve the military. “I am an honest and decent person,” he added in a text message. Yermak led Ukraine’s negotiating team over the past fortnight as Kyiv responded to a pro-Russia 28-point plan released by the White House. It demanded that Ukraine withdraw from Donetsk province and agree to a general amnesty, and that the west drop sanctions imposed on Russia. Talks stalled this week during the US Thanksgiving holiday, but are expected to restart shortly. A Ukrainian delegation led by Rustem Umerov, secretary of the country’s national security council, has set out for Washington, Zelenskyy said. On Saturday a US official told Reuters that Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner would meet Ukrainian officials in Florida on Sunday. Ukraine has submitted a 19-point counter proposal, which has been shared with Moscow. Next week, Witkoff is due to arrive in the Russian capital, though few expect a breakthrough, since last week the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, described the Ukrainian leadership as illegitimate. Kyiv’s position is weakened by the corruption scandal, easily the most serious domestic political crisis of Zelenskyy’s presidency, while Russia hopes its continued bombing and a potential financial crisis for Ukraine will wear it down. Ukraine is hoping EU leaders will agree a €140bn (£122bn) loan secured against Russian central bank assets to shore up its budget from next year, but opposition from Belgium, where most of the money is held, has dimmed hopes of reaching an agreement by the end of the year.

Working the land but rarely owning it: life for New Zealand’s young farmers

On a farm south of Auckland, Cam Clayton breeds sheep and cattle – working alongside the dogs he’s trained since they were puppies. There, he looks out on knobbly hills and tree-filled gullies in Waikato, close to where he grew up. “I have the best office, with the best views,” says Clayton. The 30-year-old is part of a changing sector in New Zealand: data from the statistics agency shows the number of farms has been steadily declining: from 70,336 in 2002, to 47,250 two decades later – a drop of 33%. The land area taken up by farming has shrunk too, by 15% over the same period. Historically an agricultural country, dairy, meat, kiwifruit and apples are still major exports for New Zealand. While the number of farms has declined, some have grown from small holdings into big businesses. New Zealand’s farmer-owned dairy co-operative, Fonterra, has recently sold its consumer businesses to French dairy giant Lactalis for nearly NZ$4bn ($2.3bn). Yet while dairy fetches record prices, it’s difficult for young farmers like Clayton to follow the traditional path to farm ownership. In the past, young farmers would often run a farm owned by someone else in return for a share of the profits, while saving to purchase land of their own. But land is becoming more expensive; prospective farm owners have to save for longer, and look for other types of work to make money. “Someone buys the neighbour’s farm, then the next neighbour, suddenly you have a portfolio of five farms and Joe Bloggs the young farmer can’t buy a 150-cow farm to get started,” Clayton says, who leases the block he works on. “You have to be really passionate and in it for the long haul.” Cheyne Gilooly is chief executive of the Young Farmers club, a 98-year old institution that connects people across New Zealand. Finding a way to buy land is a frequent topic of discussion at the dozens of clubs throughout the country which are open to people aged under 31 – fewer and fewer of whom own their farms. “The big challenge at the moment is helping people finance their way into farm or land ownership as land gets more expensive,” says Gilooly. Cam Lowery, 27, and his partner Poppy Mitchell, 25, are one year into holding a lease for Lowery’s parents farm near Milton, south of Dunedin. They have 2,700 sheep, as well as some cows, calves and hoggets – young sheep who haven’t been shorn. After going to university, Lowery worked as a shepherd across the South Island. “I just couldn’t see a way into farm ownership through shepherding,” he says. Kiwisaver, a government-supported retirement saving scheme, can be used for first home payments, but can’t be used to buy a farm. “It’s hard to build equity off-farm,” Lowery says. For now, because the farm is owned by family, they are settled. Mitchell works as a physiotherapist in Dunedin during the week, an hour’s drive away. Lowery does all the farm work, with Mitchell’s help on weekends. “My days start at 7 or 8 am and I keep working until 7pm at the moment,” he says. The work is hard, but it feels worth doing, Mitchell adds. In Waikato, Clayton does a bit of everything: he helps on his parents’ dairy farm, manages a 600-hectare (1,480 acres) block of land, breeds and sells his cattle and sheep. It’s lots of casual work “just hopping around farms”. One day, he might be milking; the next, mustering ewes for a neighbour or inseminating cows. Clayton was a recent finalist at the Bay of Plenty-Waikato Young Farmer of the Year contest. He will now compete against other regions in challenges including identifying horse tack, grading different types of wool and demonstrating his ability to communicate with dogs. A written test includes questions about plant varieties, agricultural legislation and irrigation. “It’s a broad spectrum, looking at all things rural,” Clayton says. The long-term plan is to own a farm with his partner, Emma. There’s lots to learn, he says but loves the variety of life on the land. “I can’t get out of bed fast enough to see what challenges the day will throw at me,” he says.

At least 500 killed in south-east Asia floods and landslides

The death toll from devastating floods and landslides in south-east Asia reportedly climbed past 500 on Saturday as clean-up and search-and-rescue operations got under way in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. Heavy monsoon rain overwhelmed swathes of the three countries this week, killing hundreds and leaving thousands stranded, many on rooftops awaiting rescue. Rescuers in Indonesia were struggling to reach the worst-affected areas of Sumatra island, where at least 350 people have died and 279 are still missing. The death toll in North Sumatra rose to 166, while 90 people died in West Sumatra. Rescuers also retrieved 47 bodies in Aceh, said Suharyanto, head of the National Disaster Management Agency. More than 3,500 police were deployed to search for people still missing and help distribute aid to more than 28,400 who fled to temporary government shelters across the province. About 80,000 people have been evacuated and hundreds are still stranded in three provinces across Sumatra island, Indonesia’s western-most area, Suharyanto told a news conference, adding that a cloud-seeding operation would begin in West Sumatra to reduce the rainfall, most of which had already subsided by Saturday. In Thailand, more than 1.4 million households – 3.8 million people – have been affected by the floods, the department of disaster prevention and mitigation said on Saturday. In southern Thailand, water levels reached 3 metres in Songkhla province and killed at least 145 people in one of the worst floods in a decade. The country’s death toll across eight provinces has risen to 162, the government said on Saturday. Workers at one hospital in hard-hit Hat Yai moved bodies into refrigerated trucks after the morgue exceeded capacity. The prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, visited a shelter for evacuees in the district on Friday and told reporters he acknowledged the government’s shortcomings in flood management. “I really have to apologise to them for letting this happen during the time I am in government,” he said in footage broadcast on AmarinTV. “The next step is to prevent the situation from deteriorating,” he added, announcing a two-week timeframe for the district’s clean-up. The Thai government rolled out relief measures for those affected by the flooding, including compensation of up to 2m baht ($62,000, £46,800) for households that lost family members. As flood waters receded, shop owner Rachane Remsringam picked through rubbish strewn between the aisles of his general goods store, lamenting hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses. His store, Madam Yong, was looted and vandalised in the wake of the disaster, he said. There has been growing public criticism of Thailand’s flood response and two local officials have been suspended over their alleged failures. An MP from the opposition People’s party criticised the administration, saying it “wrongly estimated the situation” and made “errors in handling the flood crisis”. One victim of the flood, Amphorn Kaeophengkro, told Reuters she and seven members of her family spent 48 hours perched atop a table, a window frame and a washing machine on the second floor of her home in the city of Hat Yai, which received 335mm (13 inches) of rain last Friday – its highest single-day tally in 300 years. “We weren’t thinking about anything else except surviving,” the 44-year-old told Reuters by candlelight, as her family began to clean their dwelling after the water had receded. Two people were killed in Malaysia by flooding caused by heavy rain that left stretches of northern Perlis state under water. The annual monsoon season, typically between June and September, often brings heavy rain, triggering landslides and flash floods. A tropical storm has exacerbated conditions, and the tolls in Indonesia and Thailand rank among the highest in floods in those countries in recent years. Climate change has affected storm patterns, including the duration and intensity of the season, leading to heavier rainfall, flash flooding and stronger wind gusts. Reporting from Reuters and Agence France-Presse in Padang, Indonesia

Venezuela denounces ‘colonialist threat’ as Trump orders airspace closed

The Venezuelan government has responded defiantly to the heightened pressure by the US government, including Donald Trump’s recent statements on Saturday that the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela is to be closed in its entirety. In a statement, the Venezuelan government said Trump’s comments are a “colonialist threat” against their sovereignty and violate international law. The government also said it demanded respect for its airspace and would not accept foreign orders or threats. Trump on Saturday, in a Truth Social post said: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.” Due to Trump’s announcement, all migrant deportation flights were “unilaterally suspended”, the Venezuelan government added. Deportation flights to Venezuela have been a significant point of contention for the Trump administration, as it continues to engage in its mass deportation program. The US defense department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. US strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean have been under way for months, along with a US military buildup in the region, and Trump has authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela. The president told military service members this week that the US would “very soon” begin land operations to stop suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers. Last week, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned major airlines of a “potentially hazardous situation” when flying over Venezuela due to a “worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around” the South American country. Venezuela revoked operating rights for six major international airlines that had suspended flights to the country after the FAA warning. The Trump administration has accused the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, of involvement in drug trafficking, a charge he has denied. Maduro, in power since 2013, has said that Trump is seeking to oust him and that Venezuelan citizens and the military will resist any such attempt. US forces in the region have so far focused on counter-narcotics operations, although the assembled firepower far outweighs anything needed for them. They have carried out at least 21 strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific since September, killing at least 83 people.

Sri Lanka death toll from floods and landslides reaches 153

Torrential rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah have killed 153 people across Sri Lanka so far, with another 191 still missing, the country’s Disaster Management Centre (DCM) said on Saturday. The DMC director general, Sampath Kotuwegoda, said relief operations were under way with 78,000 people moved to nearly 800 state-run welfare centres after their homes were destroyed by the week-long heavy rains. Among the dead were 11 residents of a care home for elderly people that was flooded in the north-central district of Kurunegala district on Saturday afternoon. The weather system was moving away from the island towards India, the DMC said, but it had already left widespread destruction with more than 500,000 people affected nationwide. “Relief operations with the help of the armed forces are under way,” Kotuwegoda told reporters in Colombo. Thousands of police and military personnel are distributing food, clearing roads and moving trapped families to safety. The military rescued 69 bus passengers in a 24-hour operation on Saturday, including a German tourist, who had been stranded in the Anuradhapura district. One of the passengers, speaking to Agence France-Presse from the hospital, said navy personnel helped them climb on to the roof of a house after using ropes to guide them through the flood water. “We were very lucky … while we were on the roof, part of it collapsed … three women fell into the water, but they were helped back on to the roof,” said WM Shantha. A helicopter crew had to abort an initial rescue attempt because the downdraft from their rotors threatened to blow away the roof the group were perched on. They were later rescued by naval boats. The cyclone made landfall on Wednesday, triggering record rainfall across the island. The flooding situation in low-lying areas worsened on Saturday, prompting authorities to issue evacuation orders for those living along the banks of the Kelani River, which flows through Colombo into the Indian Ocean. The Kelani burst its banks on Friday evening, forcing hundreds of people to move to temporary shelters, the DMC said. One woman, Mallika Kumari, who lives by the river in Malwana, east of Colombo, was rescued by boat and transported to safety with her children. “I first heard about the flood warning on TV but we never expected the river to overflow so quickly. We just rushed out of the house without anything,” Kumari told Reuters. In the rush, Kumari left behind her cat, which was later picked up by a navy boatcrew. Other residents chose to remain in the upper floors of partially submerged homes, protecting their belongings. Rains have subsided in most parts of the country, including the capital, but parts of the island’s north have continued to experience showers due to the residual effects of the cyclone. The DMC said earlier that the death toll had climbed with the recovery of more bodies in the worst-affected central region, where most victims were buried alive as mudslides hit this week. Some regions had recorded 360mm of rain in the past 24 hours, the DMC said on Friday. VSA Ratnayake, 56, said he had to leave his flooded home in Kaduwela, near Colombo. “I think this could be the worst flood in our area for three decades,” Ratnayake said. “I remember a flood in the 1990s when my house was under 7ft of water.” Kalyani, 48, also from Kaduwela, said she was sheltering two families whose homes were flooded. At least 3,000 homes have been damaged by mudslides and floods. In Anuradhapura district in the north, a Bell 212 helicopter airlifted a man who had climbed a coconut tree to escape rising waters. Officials said India had rushed a planeload of supplies early on Saturday for the victims. The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, expressed his condolences over the loss of life in Sri Lanka and said New Delhi was ready to send more aid. “We stand ready to provide more aid and assistance as the situation evolves,” he said on X. DMC officials said they expected flood levels to be worse than in 2016, when 71 people were killed across Sri Lanka. This week’s weather-related toll is the highest since June last year. Dozens of stranded tourists were evacuated to Colombo from the tea-growing central areas of the island on Friday. The Sirasa TV network broadcast an appeal for help from a desperate woman. “We are six people, including a one-and-a-half-year-old child. If the water rises another five steps up the staircase, we will have nowhere to go,” she said by phone. Sri Lanka is in its north-east monsoon season, but rainfall has intensified because of Cyclone Ditwah, the DMC said. Sri Lanka depends on seasonal monsoon rains for irrigation and hydroelectricity, but experts have warned that the country faces more frequent floods owing to the climate crisis. The worst flooding Sri Lanka has experienced since the turn of the century occurred in June 2003, when hundreds of people were killed.