Cyclone Ditwah: Scenes of Damage, India on Edge As Deaths Near 200 In Sri Lanka | In Pics

Entire areas of Sri Lanka’s capital were flooded on Sunday after a powerful cyclone triggered heavy rains and mudslides across the island, with authorities reporting nearly 200 dead and dozens more missing.

NDRF personnel, in close coordination with local authorities, continue to undertake relief operations in Sri Lanka.

India sent two urban search and rescue teams comprising 80 National Disaster Response Force personnel to the Island nation under Operation Sagar Bandhu, reaffirming the spirit of ‘Neighbourhood First.’ Two Chetak helicopters on board the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant also joined the rescue efforts.

Officials said the extent of the damage in the country’s worst-affected central region was only just being revealed as relief workers cleared roads blocked by fallen trees and mudslides.

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said at least 193 people had died following a week of heavy rains brought on by Cyclone Ditwah, while 228 people were missing.

The northern parts of Colombo were flooded as the water level in the Kelani River rose rapidly, the DMC said.

Cyclone Ditwah stayed close to the Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coast on Saturday, moving slowly northwards and bringing the risk of strong rain across several southern states now under a red alert.

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.

The extreme weather system has destroyed more than 25,000 homes and sent 147,000 people into state-run temporary shelters.

Another 968,000 people required assistance after being displaced by the floods. The blood bank chief, Lakshman Edirisinghe, said their daily requirement was about 1,500 units of blood, but the weather-related disruptions had reduced supply to just 236 units on Saturday.