COLOMBO, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Around 700 houses have been damaged in Sri Lanka by high wind, Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Center (DMC) said on Friday.

The DMC said in its statement that 12 districts in the northern, central and western parts of the country had been hit by the high wind.

According to the Sri Lankan Department of Meteorology, the speed of the wind above the island nation was still high. Gusty winds up to 50 to 60 km per hour were expected in the central, northern, eastern and western provinces of Sri Lanka.

The department said the sea conditions could be rough at times as the wind speed may increase up to 60 to 70 km per hour in the sea around the country.