Sri Lanka is fighting against time as heavy rains today slowed down an already massive recovery operation, following last week’s catastrophic floods and landslides that have left the nation grieving nearly 500 confirmed deaths.
Officials reported that southern Sri Lanka was drenched with up to 132 millimetres of rainfall over a 15-hour period ending last night. Although the rains were intense, authorities said water levels were gradually receding, offering some relief after days of devastation.
According to the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), 486 people have been confirmed dead, while 341 individuals remain missing after Cyclone Ditwah struck the island on Saturday, tearing through communities and leaving destruction on an unprecedented scale.
The number of displaced residents in state-run shelters has declined from a peak of 225,000 to 170,000 as floodwaters slowly withdraw from Colombo and surrounding areas. But the damage remains overwhelming: record rainfall triggered deadly landslides, prompting President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to call this the most challenging natural disaster in the country’s history.
In the landslide-prone central hills, evacuated families have been strongly advised not to return home yet, even if their properties appear intact. The soil remains dangerously unstable, raising fears of further slides.
In Gampola, one of the hardest-hit central towns, residents and volunteers pushed through thick mud and waterlogged debris in an effort to regain a sense of normalcy.
“We are getting volunteers from other areas to help with this clean-up,” said Muslim cleric Faleeldeen Qadiri at the Gate Jumma Mosque. Volunteers like Rinas described the scale of the work: “We calculated that it takes 10 men a whole day to clean one house. No one can do this without help.”
Commissioner-General of Essential Services Prabath Chandrakeerthi said the government is offering 25,000 rupees (US$83) for each home’s clean-up, while reconstruction—estimated at US$6–7 billion—is just beginning. Additionally, authorities are providing 2.5 million rupees (US$8,300) to families rebuilding their destroyed houses. More than 50,000 homes have already been reported damaged.
Power restoration efforts continue across the country, with nearly three-quarters of the electricity grid back online. However, several heavily affected areas in the Central Province remain without power or phone services.
President Dissanayake, who declared a state of emergency on Saturday, has vowed that Sri Lanka will rebuild—with both national resilience and international support guiding the way.
