11.   Continuous downpours since Saturday at the tail end of the annual monsoon season devastated farmlands, washed away bridges and blocked highways.

12.   Floods brought on by the annual monsoon rains kill hundreds of people in the two countries each year.

13.   Officials said the rains mark the start of the annual monsoons.

14.   Other factors, like the annual monsoon rains that begin in June and the ongoing revision of registration lists, would be considered, he said.

15.   Southwest Sri Lanka is currently experiencing its annual monsoon and rain has been forecast for Thursday.

16.   The annual monsoon rains begin in June every year and usually ends by mid-August.

17.   The haze had lingered until the region was washed by the annual monsoon rains in November.

18.   The El Nino weather phenomenon has delayed the annual monsoon rains, spreading drought throughout the highlands and causing crop failures and severe water shortages.

19.   The floods were caused by annual monsoons that caused four rivers to overflow.

20.   The holiday, called Songkran, arrives in the middle of the hottest month here, just before the annual monsoon rains arrive to cool things off.