Sri Lanka is facing one of its worst natural disasters in decades. Cyclone Ditwah struck on November 28, bringing massive floods and deadly landslides that have left a trail of death and destruction across the entire island. At least 465 people have died and nearly 366 are missing, with fears of the death toll crossing the 1,000 mark.
As rescue teams battle the vagaries of the weather day and night, the stories emerging from the disaster are heartbreaking. In a village near Gampola, on November 27, a 13-foot wall of water crashed into a small community of around 100 families in the dead of night… sending 66 people to their watery graves in the blink of an eye.
In Kandy, along the Ankumbura–Alawathugoda Road, a massive landslide buried around 50 houses in the Rambuk Ela area on the evening of November 29, with fears of around 50 people being buried in the mud. In Kotmale’s Rambodagala area, a landslide claimed 15 lives. All the victims were buried together in a mass grave – a deeply sad moment, showing how one strike could wipe out numerous lives, while in the Kurunegala district, 11 elderly residents drowned when floodwaters rushed into their care home in Makandura. Five Navy sailors are still missing as they were valiantly attempting to redirect the dangerous overflow from Chalai Lagoon in the northeast.
More than 180,000 people from over 51,000 families have lost their homes and are now living in 1094 temporary shelters set up by the government. Over 15,000 houses have been completely destroyed, roads are blocked and communication systems have failed. Many communities remain isolated or marooned from the outside world, unable to call for help or tell anyone they are alive.
A Nation’s Hope Washed Away: The Long Road Ahead
This disaster comes at a devastating moment for Sri Lanka. After years of severe economic, political, and social crisis, our country had just begun to lift its head with hope under a new government. We were finally starting to rebuild, focusing on uplifting the poorest members of our society and creating pathways out of poverty. But just about two years into this recovery, at the year’s end, this flood has washed away not only lives and homes but the hope of building a developed nation.
The destruction goes far beyond what we can see today. Our main airport was submerged under floodwaters. Critical roads and bridges that connect our communities and markets have been destroyed. Railway stations lie in ruins. Tourism sites that brought vital income to our economy have been devastated. Vast paddy fields ready for harvest are now underwater, and vegetable gardens that fed our families have collapsed into mud. Electricity power supply systems have been severely damaged, and water treatment facilities are not functioning. In the cruel irony of this disaster, people are surrounded by floodwater yet have no clean water to drink. They sit in darkness without electricity, unable to cook, charge phones to call for help, or even see danger approaching at night. The very foundations of our economy- agriculture, tourism, infrastructure – have been severely damaged.
Most heartbreaking is what this means for our people. Many have escaped with only the clothes they are wearing – everything else is gone. The cost of living, already high from our economic crisis, will surely rise even more. With farmlands destroyed and food supply chains broken, we face a looming hunger crisis. There will be no food in the coming months, and even worse, people will have no money to buy whatever little might be available. We must now rebuild broken roads, bridges, and entire towns from the bottom line of an economy that was already in crisis. Families who had worked so hard over the past years to become stable, who had just begun to stand on 3 their own feet again, have lost everything in a single night. They have been pushed back into poverty and desperate need. The poorest, whom we were trying so hard to help rise up, have been struck down once more. We have become poor to the poorest. It is truly a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire. As a nation, we face not just the challenge of immediate rescue and relief, but the enormous task of rebuilding our entire economy and restoring hope to a people who have already endured so much. The road ahead is long and uncertain, but we must walk it together.
Holy Family Sisters in Sri Lanka