Sri Lanka Reels as Cyclone Ditwah’s Toll Nears 200, Colombo Submerged

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka is grappling with its deadliest natural disaster in years after Cyclone Ditwah unleashed torrential rains and catastrophic landslides across the island nation, killing nearly 200 people, leaving hundreds missing, and submerging entire districts of the capital, Colombo.

The scale of the devastation is only now emerging as rescue crews, battling blocked roads and continuing rains, reach the worst-hit central and western regions. The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) reported on Sunday that the death toll had risen to at least 193, with 228 people still unaccounted for. The cyclone has displaced nearly a million people and forced over 147,000 into government-run temporary shelters.

A Capital Under Water

In a dramatic escalation of the crisis, the northern suburbs of Colombo were inundated as the Kelani River burst its banks. The flooding transformed streets into raging rivers, stranding residents in their homes and compelling desperate evacuations.

“Although the cyclone has moved away, heavy rains upstream are now flooding low-lying areas along the banks of the Kelani River,” a DMC official stated, warning that the situation in the capital remained critical.

The human cost was palpable in the Colombo suburb of Wennawatte, where Selvi, 46, waded through chest-deep water carrying four bags of her family’s salvaged belongings. “My house is completely flooded. I don’t know where to go, but I hope there is some safe shelter where I can take my family,” she told Agence France-Presse, her voice strained with exhaustion and worry.

Receding Waters Reveal Widespread Destruction

As floodwaters began to recede in some areas, the full extent of the damage became terrifyingly clear. In the town of Manampitiya, located 250km northeast of Colombo, residents returned to find a landscape of mud-caked ruins and overturned vehicles.

“Manampitiya is a flood-prone town, but I have never seen such a volume of water,” said S Sivanandan, 72, a local shop owner. He described to the local News Centre portal how the deluge had devastated local businesses. “A car flipped upside down right in front of my shop,” he said, gesturing to the wreckage. “Everything is lost.”

Ongoing Threats and a Plea for Help

The crisis is far from over. The National Building Research Organisation issued a severe warning that mountain slopes, saturated with rainwater, remain at a “high risk” of further landslides, threatening rescue efforts and communities in hilly regions.

Facing a catastrophe of national proportions, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake declared a state of emergency on Saturday to expedite relief operations and appealed to the international community for assistance.

The global response was swift. India, Sri Lanka’s nearest neighbor, was the first to respond, dispatching vital relief supplies and two helicopters for search-and-rescue missions, with two more due to join on Sunday. Pakistan also committed to sending rescue teams, while Japan announced it would deploy an assessment team to determine immediate needs and pledged further support.

A Deepening Climate Crisis

Meteorologists and climate experts point to the role of the climate crisis in intensifying such extreme weather events. Cyclone Ditwah’s unprecedented rainfall and destructive power are consistent with a pattern of storms becoming more intense, carrying more moisture, and moving more slowly, leading to prolonged and concentrated devastation.

This disaster marks Sri Lanka’s deadliest natural catastrophe since 2017, when similar flooding and landslides killed over 200 people. The worst event this century remains the June 2003 floods, which claimed 254 lives.

With more than 25,000 homes destroyed and critical infrastructure damaged, the nation faces a long and arduous road to recovery. Troops from the army, navy, and air force have been deployed alongside civilian workers and volunteers, but the sheer scale of the destruction underscores a grim new reality for the island nation in an era of climatic upheaval.