COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Floods and mudslides that have ravaged Sri Lanka’s east for days have submerged rice paddies and hampered food distribution, officials said today, leaving many villagers to scrounge for corn and yams in nearby fields.

Days of heavy rain have swamped Eastern Province, affecting more than a million people and forcing 360,000 from their homes. The government has estimated the cost of damage at $500 million.

The Disaster Management Center said 27 people have died in the floods, including four whose deaths were reported today. Twelve more are missing.

Thirty percent of the farm land in the rice-growing region submerged, the Agriculture Ministry said. Meanwhile, some villages are marooned, with little or no food aid coming in.