State of emergency in Sri Lanka as powerful cyclone leaves over 150 dead

Colombo: Sri Lanka was on Saturday picking up pieces after widespread destruction caused by a powerful cyclone, with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake declaring a state of emergency throughout the country as the death toll rose to over 150.

As harrowing tales of people either buried in landslides or swept away by flash floods emerged from across the provinces due to Cyclone Ditwah, India sent around 21 tonnes of relief materials in two military transport aircraft under its ‘Operation Sagar Bandhu,’ a day after delivering the first tranche of over six tonnes of essential supplies.

As the waters receded with the cyclone moving away from Sri Lanka, authorities warned that the indirect effects will continue.

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) report said that the death toll resulting from the adverse weather conditions since Thursday has risen to 153.

In a statement issued at 7 pm (local time), the DMC confirmed that apart from the over 150 deaths, 191 individuals remain missing as search and relief operations continue across multiple districts.

A whopping 7,74,724 people from 2,17,263 families in 25 districts have been affected by the disaster as many areas continue to experience challenges due to flooding, landslides, and heavy rains.

The DMC further stated that 1,00,898 people from 27,494 families are currently sheltered in 798 evacuation centres around the country.

According to an official gazette dated Friday and released on Saturday, the state of emergency has been declared throughout the island.

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.

The Indian Air Force has deployed two transport aircraft — C-130 and IL-76 — carrying paramilitary personnel and relief material as part of India’s humanitarian assistance extended to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu, reaffirming the spirit of ‘Neighbourhood First.’

India also sent two urban search and rescue teams comprising 80 National Disaster Response Force personnel, even as two Chetak helicopters on board the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant joined the rescue efforts.

Earlier in the day, Athula Karunanayake, Director General of the Meteorology Department, told reporters: “We noticed Ditwah exiting Sri Lanka and heading towards the Indian coast.”

Although the direct effects of the cyclone have subsided, the indirect effects will continue, he said.

Rainfall exceeding 100 mm is possible in some areas of the Northern, North Central, North Eastern, and Central provinces, while the Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces are expected to receive rainfall exceeding 50 mm, he said.

In the northwestern region of Pannala, 25 people in an elders care home were swept away by floods but 14 of them were rescued, the police said.

Reports of people buried alive surfaced from most areas in the central and southwestern provinces, where search and rescue operations are being continued.

However, people from scores of areas from the central province remain totally cut off without road access and mobile phone systems breaking down due to lack of electricity, officials said.

The Sri Lankan Army said some 68 people trapped on a bus in the Northwestern Province’s Kalaoya area were rescued by the navy early on Saturday morning in an operation which lasted several hours.

The military deployed over 24,000 troops in the rescue mission and rescued 2,453 people, the Army Commander Lasantha Rodrigo said, adding that over 43,000 affected people were sent to 488 relief centres.

“We received generous assistance from India in our rescue operations. Two Indian aircraft came — the C130 brought in essentials, while the IL 76 brought 80 personnel to assist us,” Rodrigo said.

Cyclone Ditwah caused spills in all major reservoirs and rivers with authorities warning people to evacuate.

Nearly 35 per cent of the areas in the island are without power since early Friday with around 7 million of the state power entity Ceylon Electricity Board customers affected.

The restoration work has been hampered by the relentless rains and floods.

Meanwhile, the US announced an immediate allocation of 2 million dollars to support emergency relief efforts, while the government of the Maldives has decided to extend relief assistance to Sri Lanka through financial support of USD 50,000 and a donation of 25,000 cases of tuna cans.