Colombo, Dec 1 — Sri Lankan rescuers were rushing to clear blocked roads and reach cut-off communities on Monday as the death toll from Cyclone Ditwah climbed to 355, with 366 people still missing, officials said.
The cyclone slammed into the island on Friday, unleashing the heaviest floods in a decade and triggering deadly landslides across the central hills. Entire neighbourhoods were submerged along swollen riverbanks as families attempted to gather soaked belongings from damaged homes.
The military said it had deployed more than 24,000 personnel, rescuing 2,453 people so far. A dramatic overnight effort in Kalaoya saw Navy teams extract 68 passengers from a stranded bus.
Army Commander Lasantha Rodrigo said India’s assistance had been “generous and timely,” adding that “one aircraft brought essential supplies while the other transported 80 specialised personnel.”
Cyclone Ditwah also forced major reservoirs and rivers to overflow, prompting new evacuation orders in several districts. Nearly seven million customers remained without electricity after about 35 percent of the island’s grid went down early Friday, with repair work slowed by continuous rain.
International relief has begun to arrive. The United States announced USD 2 million in emergency support, while the Maldives pledged USD 50,000 and 25,000 cases of tuna cans for families in temporary shelters.
