Cyclone Ditwah, which originated southeast of Sri Lanka last week, has caused mass destruction across Southeast Asian countries, with the death toll growing over 1,300.

The cyclone moved slowly northwards along Sri Lanka’s coastline, lingering there for a long time before moving parallel to the Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh-Puducherry coast.

The cyclone triggered deadly floods and landslides in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, with survivors getting increasingly frustrated due to the pace of rescue efforts and aid delivery being lower than that of the catastrophic devastation.

Cyclone Ditwah | Top points

• Sri Lanka toll hits 465: Sri Lankan authorities on Wednesday said they would need around $7 billion to rebuild homes, roads and industries destroyed by Cyclone Ditwah, which so far has left at least 465 people dead. Meanwhile, 366 other people continue to remain unaccounted for after mudslides and floods triggered by the cyclone, which has led the island to witness consistent rainfall in the last week. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said foreign assistance was essential to finance the recovery of the country, which is still emerging from its worst-ever economic crisis three years ago. During the weekend, Dissanayake vowed to rebuild the nation with international support. Floodwaters were still receding on Wednesday, with over 1.5 million Lankan people being affected by the natural catastrophe.

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• Sri Lanka’s economic crisis: A senior official overseeing recovery efforts in the island nation said that Sri Lanka‘s total economic loss from Cyclone Ditwah is estimated to be between USD 6 billion and 7 billion, which is roughly 3-5 per cent of the country’s GDP. Prabath Chandrakirthi, Commissioner General of Essential Services, told reporters that new legal provisions would be required to speed up the post-disaster procedure. He said the government had decided to temporarily allow the import of frozen vegetables, as the main vegetable-growing areas in the central hilly districts were devastated by landslides and floods. Chandrakrithi further said the house-cleaning allowance for affected families has been increased from LKR 10,000 to LKR 25,000, and will be distributed without ownership verification. In 2022, Sri Lanka declared a sovereign default on its $46 billion external debt after it ran out of foreign exchange to finance even the most essential imports, like food, fuel and medicines. Then, Sri Lanka secured a $2.9 billion bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund, which has said the economy has stabilised.
• Op Sagar Bandhu: On Friday last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep condolences to the people of Sri Lanka over the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah, announcing that India has dispatched relief materials and humanitarian assistance to the island nation under Operation Sagar Bandhu. The Indian Air Force deployed two transport aircraft, C-130 and IL-76, carrying paramilitary personnel and relief material. The IAF said that 21 tonnes of relief material, along with over 80 NDRF personnel and eight tonnes of equipment, were sent to Colombo. On Tuesday, the Indian Army said that it is deploying an integrated task force, a high-readiness, self-contained composite HADR contingent, under Operation Sagar Bandhu to provide critical relief, restore essential services and support families in cyclone-hit Sri Lanka. Along with sending several tonnes of relief material to the island nation, India also sent a mobile field hospital and over 70 medical personnel to Sri Lanka. Additionally, NDRF teams in the Sedawatta and Nadeegama areas near Colombo have rescued over 43 people so far, and continue to save those trapped in the floodwaters ranging between eight and ten feet.
• Indonesia reeling from massive loss: The death toll from the devastating floods and landslides in Indonesia hit 755, but the number of missing persons rose to 650. Monsoon rainfall, along with two rare tropical storm systems, wreaked havoc across parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, southern Thailand and northern Malaysia last week. Ade Soekadis, executive director of aid group Mercy Corps Indonesia, said, “It’s very challenging logistically to respond. The extent of the damage and the size of the affected area is really huge.” The weather system that impacted Indonesia also brought heavy rainfall to Thailand, killing at least 176 people, and left two people dead in Malaysia.
• Tamil Nadu rainfall: Coastal Tamil Nadu and certain interior parts in the state saw torrential rainfall on Wednesday as remnants of Cyclone Ditwah, the weakened depression, further weakened into a well-marked low-pressure area. Rain pounded Chennai and neighbouring Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, and Kancheepuram districts, inundating roads in residential areas. Villupuram, Cuddalore, Tiruvannamalai also experienced frequent heavy rainfall with brief intervals as the depression moved inland. Meanwhile, an official of the Greater Chennai Corporation said it was bailing out water and trying to restore normalcy in traffic. “We are striving to ensure that the subways don’t get inundated so as to cause hardship to the people,” he said.
• Where is Cyclone Ditwah remnant now: As per the India Meteorological Department’s latest update on Wednesday, the depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts moved slowly southwestwards and weakened into a well-marked low-pressure area over coasts and their neighbourhood at 5:30 am. The weather office said that the low-pressure area is “very likely to continue to move southwestwards slowly across north coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and weaken further into a low-pressure area during next 24 hours”.

(with inputs from PTI, AFP, AP)