Nearly 400 Dead as Cyclone Ditwah Causes Massive Humanitarian Crisis in Sri Lanka

Colombo: Sri Lanka continues to grapple with widespread devastation from Cyclone Ditwah, which has triggered severe flooding, landslides, and large-scale infrastructure damage, leaving several districts cut off and overwhelming emergency services.

As of Monday, 390 people have been confirmed dead and 352 remain missing due to the extreme weather conditions since November 16. The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) reported that Kandy district recorded 88 deaths, followed by 82 in Badulla and 75 in Nuwara Eliya.

The DMC said 1,373,899 people from 382,651 families across 25 districts have been affected so far. Of them, 204,597 individuals from 57,790 families are currently housed in temporary safety centres. An estimated 432 homes have been fully destroyed, while 15,688 have sustained partial damage.

In its latest advisory, the DMC forecast intermittent showers over the next 36 hours in the Northern, Western, Sabaragamuwa, and Southern provinces, as well as in Kandy and Nuwara Eliya. Thundershowers are likely in parts of Uva, North-Central, and Eastern provinces, and the public has been urged to take precautions against strong winds and lightning.

International assistance has begun arriving, with India being the first to respond. The UK announced USD 8,90,000 in humanitarian support, China pledged USD 1 million in cash and 10 million Renminbi in relief materials, Australia committed 1 million Australian dollars, and Nepal announced USD 2,00,000 for recovery operations.

Indian Forces Evacuate 9-month Pregnant Woman

India has intensified relief efforts under Operation Sagar Bandhu, its Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) mission.

A nine-month pregnant woman in Puttalam district was safely evacuated and given emergency medical care by the Indian National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Indian High Commission said on Tuesday.

NDRF personnel, working with local authorities, also delivered food and essentials to nearly 800 stranded people in remote areas of Puttalam. Indian Air Force helicopters air-dropped more than 5.5 tonnes of relief materials, including into zones where landing was impossible.

In a separate operation, IAF crew winched four critically injured survivors from a remote location near Ganthuna and transferred them for emergency treatment. Search efforts continue for missing persons in Badulla, where teams recovered one deceased individual from beneath five feet of debris.

Relief supplies brought to Trincomalee by the Indian Navy ship INS Sukanya on Monday were airlifted by the Sri Lanka Air Force to severely affected communities across the Eastern Province.