At least 30 people have died due to extreme rains and floods that have devastated Sri Lanka since May 15, State Minister of Defence Premitha Bandara Tennakoon told Parliament on Wednesday.

Heavy monsoonal showers have destroyed 71 houses while another 9,300 suffered partial damage. Some 825 small and medium-scale industries have suffered damages alongside 63 infrastructure system setups, Tannakoon said.

The deaths have been reported from 10 districts, including the capital Colombo, where torrential rains exceeding 300 mm caused flash floods, fallen trees, high winds, lightning, and earth slips.

The Disaster Management Centre has issued flood warnings for the basins of several rivers from different districts as more rains and high winds are expected.

Earth slip red notices have been issued in respect of four districts by the National Building Research Centre.

Earlier on Monday, Sri Lanka closed schools as heavy rain triggered floods and mudslides in many parts of the island nation.

By Monday, over 5,000 people were moved to evacuation centres.

Navy and army troops have been deployed for rescue work and also to provide food and other essential items to the affected areas.

More than 19,000 persons from over 5,000 families were marooned over the weekend as severe monsoonal downpours inflicted widespread devastation in 20 of the 25 administrative districts that have been severely affected, authorities said on Sunday.

Flooding caused by torrential rain and fierce winds on South Africa's eastern coast have killed at least 22 people, local authorities said on Tuesday.

Flooding hit several locations in two eastern provinces, two rare tornados were spotted, temperatures plunged and snow fell in some central regions.

At least 11 people died in Eastern Cape, a spokesperson from Nelson Mandela Bay municipality, at the heart of the floods, told AFP.

More than 2,000 people have been evacuated from Nelson Mandela Bay, notably from makeshift homes in the municipality's slums.

The number of known fatalities as a result of the flooding in Germany's south has risen to five, according to the police.

A woman died after her car slipped off a road on Monday amid flooding in the small Bavarian town of Markt Rettenbach, police said. The 57-year-old's body was later recovered from the scene.

According to initial investigations, she was on a flooded road near Markt Rettenbach after driving past a warning barrier. In the closed-off section, the car slid sideways off the road into a meadow, where the water level was very high.

The woman made an emergency call on her mobile phone but by the time emergency crews arrived the car was "almost completely submerged," the police said.

Authorities had previously reported four deaths as a result of the flooding, in Bavaria and the neighbouring state of Baden-Württemberg. One of the dead was a firefighter on his way to help people trapped by the flooding.

The search for another firefighter who went missing overnight continued on Tuesday.

Police said however that the water current was so strong in the area near the town of Offingen where his boat capsized that the search could only take place from the air and where there was dry land.

The flooding situation in Bavaria is still considered critical, while the situation has significantly improved in Baden-Württemberg.