Rescue Mission Intensifies as Flood Waters Rise
Emergency services in Sri Lanka are engaged in a desperate race against time to rescue hundreds of people stranded by catastrophic flooding. The death toll has climbed to 69, with a further 34 individuals reported missing, as the island nation reels from the impact of Cyclone Ditwah.
Helicopters and navy boats have been deployed to pluck residents from treetops and rooftops in villages completely cut off by the rising waters. The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) confirmed the increasing toll, noting that most victims in the worst-hit central region were buried alive in mudslides.
Widespread Devastation and Mass Evacuations
The relentless rainfall has submerged entire districts, including Wellampitiya on the outskirts of the capital, Colombo. Some regions have received a staggering 360mm of rain in just 24 hours, causing the Kelani River to overflow its banks on Friday.
VSA Ratnayake, 56, who was forced to abandon his flooded home in Kaduwela, near Colombo, stated, "I think this could be the worst flood in our area for three decades. I remember a flood in the 1990s when my house was under 7ft of water." Meanwhile, Kalyani, 48, also from Kaduwela, is now sheltering two families whose homes were inundated.
The scale of the disaster is immense:
- More than 18,000 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters.
- At least 3,000 homes have been damaged by mudslides and floods.
- Dozens of stranded tourists were evacuated to Colombo from central tea-growing areas.
International Aid and Future Forecasts
With more rain forecast and Cyclone Ditwah expected to move towards the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu by Sunday, officials fear the situation could deteriorate further. DMC officials have warned that flood levels may surpass those of 2016, a year when 71 people lost their lives nationwide.
The human cost was starkly illustrated in a televised appeal on Sirasa TV, where a desperate woman pleaded for help: "We are six people, including a one-and-a-half-year-old child. If the water rises another five steps up the staircase, we will have nowhere to go."
Internationally, India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, expressed his condolences and confirmed that New Delhi is rushing aid to the affected areas. In a post on X, he said, "We stand ready to provide more aid and assistance as the situation evolves."
While Sri Lanka depends on its north-east monsoon season for irrigation and power, experts warn that the climate crisis is leading to more frequent and intense flooding. This week's weather-related death toll is the highest since June last year, underscoring a troubling trend of escalating natural disasters on the island.
