Cyclone Ditwah Floods and Landslides Kill Over 150 in Sri Lanka

Cyclone Ditwah unleashed catastrophic rains on November 29, triggering destructive mudslides in Sri Lanka's central highlands and widespread flooding downstream that inundated neighborhoods around Colombo. Authorities reported well over 150 people killed, with many more declared missing and tens of thousands moved to temporary shelters as rescue teams combed ravaged towns and villages.

Landslides struck the hilly interior districts where settlements cling to steep slopes, burying homes and cutting off access to communities that remained unreachable by emergency crews. Floodwaters swept through low lying suburbs and towns along river valleys, carrying debris and stranding families on rooftops and tree tops before they could be evacuated. Roads and communications were severed in some of the hardest hit areas, complicating efforts to account for the missing and to deliver emergency supplies.

The government mobilized military and civil defense resources, while neighboring India dispatched search and rescue teams and aid to assist operations. The cross border response reflected long standing ties and the logistical imperative of rapidly scaling up ground teams and helicopters to reach isolated locations. Officials cautioned that the death toll could rise as crews enter previously inaccessible hamlets and assess the full extent of damage to homes, infrastructure and crops.

Emergency shelters swelled as tens of thousands sought refuge in schools, community centers and makeshift camps. Authorities reported that many displaced people were sheltering with relatives or in temporary facilities that lacked adequate sanitation and medical capacity. The destruction of local roads and bridges hampered the distribution of food, clean water and medical supplies, and social media and local officials reported pockets of communities still cut off from assistance.

Agricultural losses loomed as a secondary crisis, with standing crops in river basins and terraced farms in the hills exposed to inundation and siltation. Damage to irrigation systems and rural roads could complicate planting and harvest cycles in affected districts, raising concerns about food security for vulnerable populations in the months ahead.

The disaster exposed systemic vulnerabilities to extreme weather events in a nation where geography concentrates population and agriculture in flood prone plains and narrow mountain valleys. Climate scientists have warned that the intensity of tropical storms and heavy rainfall episodes in the Indian Ocean region is likely to rise with warming seas, placing new strains on countries with limited disaster risk reduction capacity.

Humanitarian organizations and regional partners now face the immediate task of scaling relief that is sensitive to local customs and needs, while beginning the longer term work of rebuilding homes, restoring infrastructure and rehabilitating livelihoods. As rescue teams push into remote communities and authorities tally losses, Sri Lanka will confront a complex recovery that will test the resilience of families and the responsiveness of regional cooperation in the face of increasingly frequent climate shocks.