Sri Lanka Cyclone Ditwah: Communities Grapple with Aftermath as Search for Missing Continues
Days after Cyclone Ditwah unleashed its fury upon Sri Lanka, leaving a devastating trail, desperate villagers in the central region of Mawathura continue their arduous search for missing loved ones. Armed with spades, residents sift through thick mud, hoping to unearth the bodies of relatives and friends swallowed by a catastrophic landslide that obliterated 13 homes in the dead of night. The cyclone, which caused widespread destruction across the Indian Ocean island nation last week, has tragically claimed 474 lives, with over 350 individuals still unaccounted for.
Harrowing Discoveries Amidst the Debris
The sheer force of the landslide in Mawathura left behind a harrowing scene: only a broken window pane, shattered walls, and a twisted red sari protruding from the mire. Neil Jayasinghe, a local bakery owner, recounted the grim task of recovering family members. “We managed to dig out my uncle, his wife and his mother-in-law last night,” he shared with Reuters, adding, “We just wrapped them in a sheet and buried them nearby. There was not even a coffin.”
Wider Regional Impact and Unprecedented Flooding
Cyclone Ditwah is part of a series of deadly storms that have recently ravaged South and Southeast Asia, causing extensive damage and loss of life across Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. In Sri Lanka, the storm triggered the worst flooding in a decade, impacting a staggering 1.2 million people, according to government reports.
Stories of Survival and Immense Loss
The human toll is palpable across the affected areas. Shantha Kumara, 49, described his harrowing escape as homes around his own crumbled. “We made it to a temple nearby and returned at dawn, but by that time nothing was left,” he recalled, emphasizing his family’s survival with his wife and three children. Meanwhile, in Gampola, a town within the hardest-hit Kandy region, 71-year-old B.S. Wickramasinghe surveyed his ruined electrical repair shop. Assisted by his son, he painstakingly cleared slush, salvaging what he could from mud-caked radios and a pile of submerged television sets. His estimated losses soared to 7 million rupees (S$29,400).
Kandy: A Hub for Relief and Future Planning
Kandy, bearing the brunt of the disaster, has tragically recorded 118 deaths. Government offices in the region have rapidly transformed into nerve centers, with officials and volunteers coordinating immense relief efforts. Cooked food, water, clothing, and other essentials are being distributed to 8,000 displaced individuals housed in 27 regional relief centers. Regional official Chinthani Herath indicated that long-term strategies would include evaluating the relocation of vulnerable hamlets to safer grounds, a decision to be made in collaboration with other government agencies. The arduous journey to recovery has only just begun for the resilient people of Sri Lanka.