Sri Lanka seeks foreign help as Cyclone Ditwah death toll reaches 123 | Floods News

Some 44,000 people displaced by floods across the country as relief operations intensify amid widespread destruction.

Sri Lanka has appealed for international assistance as the death toll from heavy rain and flooding caused by Cyclone Ditwah rose to 123 and another 130 are reported missing.

The extreme weather system has destroyed nearly 15,000 homes across the country, sending nearly 44,000 people to temporary state-run shelters, the Disaster Management Center (DMC) said on Saturday.

Although Cyclone Ditwah was heading toward neighboring India to the north on Saturday, more landslides have hit the central district of Kandy, 115 kilometers (70 miles) east of the capital, Colombo, with the main access road under water in several places.

DMC director general Sampath Kotuwegoda said relief operations had been strengthened with the deployment of thousands of army, navy and air force personnel as he announced the latest casualty figures.

“Relief operations are being carried out with the help of the armed forces,” Kotuwegoda told reporters in Colombo.

Mahesh Gunasekara, secretary general of the Sri Lanka Red Cross, said many people have been stranded in several flood-affected areas as rescue teams try to reach them.

“The need for help has been increasing. After two days, the water is still swelling the legs,” he said.

“Although the cyclone is slowly moving away from the country, it is not over for us yet,” Gunasekara added.

The flooding prompted authorities to issue evacuation orders for those living along the banks of the Kelani River, which flows into the Indian Ocean from Colombo.

The Kelani overflowed on Friday night, forcing hundreds of people to seek temporary shelters, the DMC said.

The government appealed for international aid and asked Sri Lankans abroad to make cash donations to help nearly half a million affected people.

Officials said Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya had met Colombo-based diplomats to brief them on the situation and seek help from their governments.

India was the first to respond, sending two planeloads of relief supplies, while an Indian warship already in Colombo on a pre-planned goodwill visit donated its funds to help the victims.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences over the deaths in Sri Lanka and said New Delhi was willing to send more aid.

“We are ready to provide further help and assistance as the situation evolves,” Modi said on X.

While rain had eased in most parts of Sri Lanka on Saturday, including the capital, parts of the island’s north were still experiencing rain due to the residual effects of Cyclone Ditwah.

DMC officials said they expected flood levels to exceed those recorded in 2016, when 71 people died across the country.

This week’s weather-related death toll is the highest since June last year, when 26 people died following heavy rain.

In December, 17 people died due to flooding and landslides.