Sri Lanka Reels as Cyclone Ditwah Toll Rises to 355; Nearly One Million Affected

Rescue workers in Sri Lanka are struggling to reach communities devastated by Cyclone Ditwah, as the official death toll climbed to 355 and a further 366 people remained missing on Dec 1.

Authorities say more than half a million people require immediate assistance, with the scale of destruction continuing to grow.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that 998,918 people across all 25 districts have now been affected by the flooding and landslides triggered by the cyclone landfall on November 28 before moving back over the Bay of Bengal.

Cyclone Ditwah brought the island's worst flooding in a decade, unleashing torrential rain and setting off deadly landslides in the central highlands. Badulla district has suffered the highest casualties. Along the Kelani river, which is flowing at a critical 8.45 feet, families were seen retrieving belongings from submerged homes as multiple low-lying areas remained under severe flood warnings.

The authorities urged residents in high-risk zones — including Kadawatha, Kelaniya, Ambatale, Malabe and several villages in the Kelaniya Divisional Secretariat — to move immediately to designated shelters. Many, however, remain stranded.

Officials have also warned the public to stay away from the Kelani flood control bund, now at full capacity, saying that "sightseeing" poses serious danger.

Transport links have been badly hit. While some train and flight services have resumed, schools remain closed and major roads are still impassable. Bridges such as the Moragahakanda-Laggala crossing have been washed away, and towns near the Maha Oya and Kala Oya rivers remain inundated.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake earlier described the disaster as the "largest and most challenging" in Sri Lanka's history, noting that this is the first time all 25 districts have been simultaneously affected.

While international assistance has now begun arriving from both the neighbourhood and beyond, the humanitarian situation is looking exceedingly grim.

The Department of Meteorology said the system is expected to move northwards and weaken, but officials warn that the danger is far from over. As floodwaters begin to recede, new risks are emerging, particularly waterborne diseases, contaminated wells, and structural collapse.

Jayatissa Munasinghe, Assistant Secretary of the National Disaster Relief Services Centre, urged the public to remain vigilant, warning that "infectious and vector-borne diseases rise sharply after floods".

Engineers have cautioned that flood-damaged infrastructure may appear intact on the surface while the soil beneath has been washed away, with major bridges and routes requiring detailed inspection before use.

Power outages are growing, and authorities warn that returning residents must not switch on electricity until the national grid operator has conducted safety checks, noting that electrocutions are common during major floods.

The country is most susceptible to damage, with officials singling out areas such as Rambuk-ela, Hasalaka, Badulla and Bulathkohupitiya as extremely dangerous, having already reported multiple fatal slides, while Kandy — which recorded about 180 mm of rainfall — remains under a major landslide alert.

Officials within the weather and irrigation departments warned that fresh landslides may strike without warning and in the absence of new rainfall, as saturated slopes continue to give way.

With the rivers still swollen and the ground highly unstable, authorities warned that the coming days will be of critical importance, and urged vigilance, even as rescue and relief agencies in the country are working around the clock, as the full extent of the damage continues to unravel.