Cyclone Ditwah spares no one, leaves trail of ruin as it tears through Sri Lanka, TN; 334 dead, hundreds missing

Cyclone Ditwah unleashed powerful winds and torrential rain when it made landfall on Friday. This triggered Sri Lanka's worst flooding in 10 years and caused landslides across the central highlands. Rescue efforts are now underway to clear blocked roads and deliver aid to more than half a million affected people.

As of Monday, 12 PM, the official death toll stood at 340, with 370 people missing. The cyclone has affected over 1 million people across more than 300,000 families.

Here's what eyewitnesses said

In villages on the northern outskirts of Colombo, flooding is a familiar challenge, but even seasoned residents were shocked by the Kelani River’s sudden and dramatic rise.

Delivery driver Dinusha Sanjaya said he ignored the early warnings, expecting only a couple of feet of water. Instead, within an hour, his two-storey home was completely underwater.

“I never thought the floods would be this bad,” Sanjaya, 37, told AFP at Vidyawardana school, where all his neighbours were also taking refuge on Monday.

For seamstress Nirushika, 44, the floods have taken away her livelihood.

“I earned a living by running a small sewing business,” she said. “Both my sewing machines were lost.”

The opposition party walks out of Parliament

Sri Lanka’s main opposition party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, staged a walkout from Parliament on Monday in protest against the government’s refusal to extend the sitting to debate the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah.

Kabir Hashim of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya said the party wanted to formally highlight the government’s inadequate preparedness, despite warnings of the severe weather that was set to strike the island.

The National People’s Power (NPP) government said that the opposition was free to express themselves until 12:30 PM, as the House was scheduled to conclude early due to disaster relief coordination work.

“We need more time to express our ideas where the government had failed, with preparedness, we could have prevented a lot of damage,” Hashim said, PTI reported.

Bimal Rathnayaka, the leader of the House, said the government was open to criticism and ideas on how to handle the crisis and urged the opposition to utilise the scheduled time until 12:30 PM.

Nearly 148,000 people are housed in temporary shelters after being battered in the past week by downpours that flooded homes, fields and roads and triggered landslides, primarily in the tea-growing central hill country.

India's ‘Operation Sagar Bandhu’

India launched ‘Operation Sagar Bandhu’ to aid Sri Lanka following the devastation triggered by Cyclone Ditwah. Swinging into swift action, India has helped its neighbour with HADR operations, rescue and relief, to provide aid and assistance to the country.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that under Operation Sagar Bandhu, Indian Air Force aircraft landed in Colombo on Sunday carrying disaster response supplies.

The Indian Air Force announced on Sunday that, under Operation Sagar Bandhu, an IAF C-17 airlifted NDRF teams and equipment from Pune. The ongoing operation has tapped into domestic support operations.

India launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu' to aid Sri Lanka following the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah. The Indian Air Force delivered 21 tonnes of relief material, along with over 80 NDRF personnel and 8 tonnes of equipment, to Colombo to assist those affected by severe flooding.

The scale and speed of these missions underscore India's steadfast commitment to assisting Sri Lanka in its hour of need, as the Indian Air Force delivers swift, coordinated, and compassionate HADR support under challenging conditions.

Heavy rain batters Tamil Nadu

Several parts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Cuddalore, and Ranipet, continued to receive moderate rainfall on Monday due to the remnants of Cyclonic Storm Ditwah, which remained close to the Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts.

Earlier, on Sunday, three people died in rain-related incidents in three districts in the state.

Meanwhile, the IMD predicted that the system, which weakened into a deep depression, would further weaken, and the remnants could cause rain.

It is likely to remain stationary as a weakened system for the next 24 hours, the IMD said.

With the continuous downpour leading to the cancellation of ten flights from here, causing waterlogging in many areas and affecting the districts, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin held a meeting with the collectors and took stock of the situation arising from the impact of the cyclone.

Around 20 trees that fell or were uprooted due to the cyclone in Chennai from 29 November to today have been removed. A total of 32,500 people were provided with food on 30 November, while another 83,600 people were served food today, according to a release from the GCC.

Private weather bloggers claimed that rain intensity was likely to increase in Chennai as intense rain bands moved into the city from the north. The cloud mass was now closer to the TN coast, with the bulk of cold tops brushing towards the Chennai belt, PTI reported.

(With inputs from agencies)