Satellite photographs have laid bare the immense scale of destruction in Sri Lanka, where catastrophic flooding triggered by Cyclone Ditwah has claimed at least 366 lives. The island's president has declared the crisis the "largest and most challenging natural disaster in our history," surpassing even the damage wrought by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Satellite Imagery Reveals a Nation Submerged
Images captured by Planet Labs on 30 November show the devastating aftermath as the Kelani River, Sri Lanka's fourth-largest, burst its banks. The satellite data reveals the river swollen far beyond its normal course, with floodwaters engulfing nearly its entire catchment area, particularly in northern regions. The commercial capital, Colombo, and its suburbs like Kaduwela and Kelaniya, were among the worst-hit locations, with dozens of families trapped in their homes by the rising waters.
Official figures state that more than one million people have been impacted by the heavy rains and floods. The Disaster Management Centre confirmed that nearly 218,000 individuals have been forced into 1,275 temporary shelters. The flooding and related landslides have caused deaths in more than half of the country's 25 districts, prompting a large-scale military deployment for rescue operations.
Race Against Time for Rescue and Relief
Authorities are in a desperate race to find hundreds of missing people. Over 24,000 police, army, and air force personnel, aided by aircraft sent by the Indian government, are working to reach families still stranded. The authorities reported that an additional 367 people remain unaccounted for.
Dramatic rescues have been underway, with the air force airlifting more than 120 people to safety by helicopter after waters breached the dam of the Mavil Aru Reservoir in the east. The military moved a further 2,000 people to higher ground. Despite these efforts, many survivors report a dire lack of immediate aid. In the Colombo suburb of Kelaniya, state agencies and donations are providing cooked food, but thousands say help has been insufficient.
Sunethra Priyadarshani, 37, told Reuters she was trapped with her sister and four children for two days. "We slowly ran out of food. We only had biscuits and water to give them last night," she said, after finally being rescued by a boat delivering lunch. The family lost everything but the clothes they were wearing.
A Crippling Blow to a Struggling Nation
The disaster deals a severe blow to Sri Lanka, which is still recovering from a devastating economic crisis in 2022. With the nation's recovery heavily dependent on Western tourism, the widespread damage from the storm threatens to further destabilise this fragile industry.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has urgently requested international aid, stating, "With the nation affected from end to end, this is a highly challenging exercise that needs to be conquered. The estimated scale of destruction is severe."
There is a glimmer of hope as Sri Lanka's irrigation department reported on Tuesday that water levels in the Kelani River are beginning to recede. However, they warned residents in lower catchment areas to remain extremely vigilant and follow evacuation orders. The overall flood situation is expected to improve later this week as Cyclone Ditwah moves north towards India.
The cyclone is part of a trio of storms that tore through South and Southeast Asia this week, causing at least 1,200 deaths across the region. In Indonesia, President Prabowo Subianto has pledged to rebuild infrastructure after floods and landslides on Sumatra left thousands homeless and 474 missing.
