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Entire areas of Sri Lanka’s capital are flooded after a powerful cyclone triggered heavy rains and mudslides across the island, with authorities reporting nearly 200 dead and dozens more missing.
Officials said the extent of the damage in the country’s worst-affected central region was slowly becoming clear on Sunday as relief workers cleared roads blocked by fallen trees and mudslides.
In the country’s deadliest natural disaster for years, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said at least 193 people had died after a week of heavy rains brought on by Cyclone Ditwah, while 228 people were missing.
The northern parts of Colombo had been flooded as the water level in the Kelani River rose rapidly, the DMC said. “Although the cyclone has left us, heavy rains upstream are now flooding low-lying areas along the banks of the Kelani River,” a DMC official said.
Selvi, 46, a resident of the Colombo suburb of Wennawatte, was forced to leave her home on Sunday, carrying four bags of clothes and valuables. “My house is completely flooded. I don’t know where to go, but I hope there is some safe shelter where I can take my family,” she told Agence France-Presse.
Water levels in the town of Manampitiya, 156 miles (250km) north-east of Colombo, were receding, revealing massive destruction. “Manampitiya is a flood-prone town, but I have never seen such a volume of water,” said a 72-year-old resident, S Sivanandan.
He told the local News Centre portal that businesses and property had been damaged extensively. A car had flipped upside down right in front of his shop.
The National Building Research Organisation, which monitors the stability of hillsides, said there was a high risk of further landslides because mountain slopes were still saturated with rainwater.
The Sri Lankan president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, declared a state of emergency on Saturday to deal with the aftermath of the cyclone and appealed for international aid.
India was the first to respond, sending relief supplies and two helicopters to carry out rescue missions. Two more helicopters were due to join on Sunday, officials said.
Pakistan was also sending rescue teams, according to the Sri Lankan air force. Japan said it would send a team to assess immediate needs and pledged further assistance.
The extreme weather system has destroyed more than 25,000 homes and forced 147,000 people into state-run temporary shelters. A further 968,000 people required assistance after being displaced by the floods.
Troops from the army, navy and air force have been deployed alongside civilian workers and volunteers to assist with the relief effort.
The climate crisis has affected storm patterns, including the duration and intensity of the season, leading to heavier rainfall, flash flooding and stronger wind gusts.
The cyclone is Sri Lanka’s deadliest natural disaster since 2017, when flooding and landslides claimed more than 200 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
The worst flooding since the turn of the century occurred in June 2003, when 254 people were killed.
