December 09, Colombo (LNW): A new assessment by the United Nations Development Programme has painted a stark picture of the havoc Cyclone Ditwah unleashed across Sri Lanka, indicating that millions of people were caught within the cyclone’s flood zone and vast swathes of the island were submerged.
According to the geospatial review, roughly 2.3 million residents — a majority of them women — were living in areas inundated when the cyclone made landfall on November 28. Analysts estimate that more than 1.1 million hectares, close to a fifth of the country’s total landmass, were affected by floodwaters that damaged homes, disrupted public services, and battered key infrastructure.
Officials noted that the findings, based partly on disaster-response data provided by the Sri Lankan authorities, confirm what many communities have already experienced first-hand: Ditwah ranks among the most severe flooding events to strike the island in decades.
Alarmingly, more than half of those residing in the affected regions were already dealing with economic instability, debt burdens, or limited means to withstand natural disasters — conditions that can turn a climate shock into a prolonged crisis.
The UNDP report also highlights that nearly 720,000 buildings were touched by the floodwaters — approximately one in every twelve structures nationwide. Over 16,000 kilometres of roads, along with several hundred railway lines and bridges, were situated in areas swamped by the deluge, significantly hampering travel and relief logistics. In the hill country, close to 1,200 landslides were triggered, further isolating vulnerable communities and delaying access to medical care and rescue teams.
Azusa Kubota, the UNDP’s Resident Representative in Sri Lanka, emphasised that the cyclone struck a nation still recovering from years of economic strain. The exposed population includes more than a million women, over half a million children, and a quarter of a million older people, with the districts of Colombo and Gampaha carrying a disproportionate share of the impact. Such concentration of need, Kubota warned, has placed extraordinary pressure on essential public services.
Where high vulnerability and severe flooding intersect, recovery is expected to be particularly challenging. Devanand Ramiah, who leads crisis readiness and response at the UNDP’s Crisis Bureau, described the event as a demonstration of how quickly cascading crises can unfold in fragile settings.
Working alongside government agencies, the UNDP is urging donors and international partners to scale up early recovery assistance. This includes restoring damaged infrastructure, helping affected families regain stability, and strengthening local systems to withstand future climate-related shocks. Kubota noted that Sri Lanka, already burdened by debt, cannot finance reconstruction alone and requires accessible funding mechanisms to rebuild sustainably and avoid further economic distress.
The organisation stressed that while immediate relief is under way, the broader effort to rebuild more resiliently will be a long-term undertaking, requiring both domestic commitment and sustained external support.
Full Report: https://geosmart.undp.org/arcgis/apps/storymaps/stories/25866fbc805c4d70b6bf35c23f896daf
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