Sri Lanka declared a state of emergency on Saturday (November 29) and appealed for international assistance as the death toll from heavy rains and flooding caused by Cyclone Ditwah rose to 132, with a further 176 people reported missing.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake invoked emergency laws, granting him wide powers to respond to the devastation following a week of torrential rain across the island.

“We have 132 confirmed dead and another 176 missing,” DMC Director-General Sampath Kotuwegoda said, adding that relief efforts had been strengthened with the deployment of the army, navy and air force.

Nearly 78,000 people have been displaced and are in temporary shelters, the South Asian country's disaster management center said.

Read more: Over 20 killed, 14 missing as intense rainfall sparks landslides and flooding in Sri Lanka

The death toll is expected to rise. Social media posts on Saturday showed several areas affected by overnight mudslides that authorities have yet to reach.

Sri Lanka has been battered by severe weather since last week. Conditions worsened Thursday, with heavy downpours that flooded homes, fields and roads and triggered landslides mainly in the tea-growing central hill country.

The government closed schools and offices and postponed examinations.

Most reservoirs and rivers have overflowed, blocking roads. Authorities stopped passenger trains and closed roads in many parts of the country after rocks, mud and trees fell on roads and railway tracks.

By Friday, water flowing downstream from severely affected areas began to inundate areas around the capital, Colombo, which experienced comparatively less rainfall.

Authorities say that Ditwah, which developed in the seas east of Sri Lanka, is likely to move toward India's southern coast by Sunday.

Read more: Sri Lanka shuts schools, offices as floods and landslides kill 56

Neighboring India dispatched two search and rescue teams, comprising 80 rescuers, and sent aid to support ongoing operations, the country's embassy in Colombo said Saturday.

With inputs from agencies.