Cyclone Ditwah: Death Toll Crosses 200 In Sri Lanka, India Helps In Rescue Under Op Sagar Bandhu

Cyclone Ditwah: The cyclonic storm Ditwah has unleashed massive devastation across Sri Lanka, leaving behind collapsed homes, inundated towns and scarred hillsides before moving back over the Bay of Bengal

and charting a path toward India’s southern coast.

The storm—one of the most severe weather systems to hit Sri Lanka in recent years—intensified heavy rainfall across the island for several days, triggering extensive flooding and deadly landslides. The central hill districts and the eastern coastline bore the worst of the impact, with entire communities cut off as roads washed away and slopes gave way under the relentless downpour.

Death Toll Crosses 200 In Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka continued relief and rescue efforts on Sunday with India’s assistance in the aftermath of catastrophic floods, landslides and devastation caused by the storm.

According to updated figures released by Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre (DMC) at 4 pm on Sunday, 212 people have been killed, while 218 remain missing since the extreme weather system struck the island on Thursday. Officials warned that the toll could rise as search teams reach cut-off areas in the central and eastern regions, where torrential rains triggered massive landslips and widespread destruction.

The cyclone’s impact has been staggering: 9,98,918 people from 2,73,606 families have been affected across the country, the DMC said.

Meanwhile, India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel, along with the Indian Air Force(IAF), continue to assist Sri Lankan authorities to save precious lives on a war footing under Operation Sagar Bandhu, launched by New Delhi to help Colombo in times of crisis.

#WATCH | Under Operation Sagar Bandhu, Chetak helicopters from INS Vikrant carried out Search and Rescue sorties in Sri Lanka today, supporting people affected by Cyclone Ditwah. India stands firmly with Sri Lanka in this difficult time, working together to save lives and extend… pic.twitter.com/LMqVlMXPZ7

— ANI (@ANI) November 29, 2025

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.’ In a daring operation, IAF helicopters undertook a hybrid rescue mission to extricate stranded passengers, including Indians, from a restricted zone.

Two transport aircraft of the IAF – C-130J and IL-76 – delivered nearly 21 tonnes of relief material in Colombo on Saturday as part of India’s humanitarian assistance extended to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu.

Also, INS Sukanya, carrying more humanitarian aid, has left Visakhapatnam and is expected to reach Sri Lanka soon

With the state of emergency, the government has moved to provide the district secretaries with discretion of expenditure up to 50 million Sri Lankan rupees.

Flood alerts have been issued for most of the eastern suburbs in Sri Lanka’s capital, with people warned to evacuate the region and move to safer locations. Colombo District Secretary Prasanna Ginige said the alerts were issued due to the River Kelani rising to dangerous levels. He said schools in the danger areas are being used as relief centres for the flood-displaced.

The Indian High Commission in Colombo is also assisting the stranded Indian passengers.

Tamil Nadu Braces For Heavy Showers

Meanwhile, incessant rainfall continue to lash parts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, while three persons have been killed in rain-related incidents caused by the cyclonic storm.

The cyclone is expected to move parallel to the coastline of northern parts of the state and neighbouring Puducherry in the next 24 hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Sunday. As per the latest bulletin by the Regional Meteorological Department, the cyclone moved nearly northwards with a speed of 7 kmph and it is located about 100 km east-southeast of Cuddalore, 100 km northeast of Karaikal, 110 km southeast of Puducherry, 140 km northeast of Vedaraniyam, 160 km southeast of Puducherry and 180 km south-southeast of Chennai.

Normal life continued to be affected in the coastal towns of Rameswaram and Nagapattinam as heavy rainfall inundated several low-lying areas.

Due to the impact of the cyclone, heavy to very heavy rain in a few places and extremely heavy rainfall are likely to occur over Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Villupuram, Chengalpattu, Pudukkottai, Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Tiruchirappalli, Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and Ranipet districts and Puducherry and Karaikal over the next 24 hours.

Residents have been asked to stay indoors, avoid coastal areas, and follow instructions from district authorities. Fishermen have been strictly warned not to venture into the sea.

The state government has kept 38 disaster response teams, including SDRF and NDRF on standby with 10 more teams from other states joined in the relief and rehabilitation work on Saturday evening, State Revenue and Disaster Management Minister R Ramachandran said as quoted by news agency PTI.

(With inputs from agencies)