Cyclone Ditwa’s strike on November 27 triggered major floods and landslides across 25 Sri Lankan districts, causing the country’s most severe damage in recent years. As of December 2, the disaster has affected over 1.4 million people, with 410 confirmed deaths and 336 people missing.

A-PAD Sri Lanka (A-PAD SL) Search-and-Rescue Team has so far rescued 21 people in four days of rescue and relief operations in Biyagama, Western Province.

A-PAD-trained Air Force member executes lifesaving rescue

Following persistent flooding after the rains subsided, individual donors requested A-PAD SL to distribute food on November 30. In coordination with the DMC, district office, and local government, A-PAD SL provided sandwiches and other food items to 250 flood victims in the Dematagoda area.

Additionally, A-PAD SL worked with students from the University of Colombo and volunteers to distribute relief supplies to the victims.

In Trincomalee, Eastern Province, drinking water was loaded onto boats and delivered to disaster-stricken areas where transportation networks had been cut off by floods.

The Sri Lankan Meteorological Department has issued a special warning that the northeast monsoon is expected to affect the entire island in the coming days, with increased rainfall expected from December 4, particularly in the Northern, North Central, Eastern, Uva and Central provinces.

A-PAD SL is closely monitoring the situation and is in contact with the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) and the National Building Research Institute (NBRO) to gather further information. 

The response effort faces numerous challenges, including persistent water outages (notably in the severely affected Kandy District), widespread communication and power failures, restricted movement due to fuel shortages, and the growing risk of infectious diseases.

A-PAD SL will continue to work with various sectors and partners to provide speedy assistance. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the many people who have sent prompt support and kind messages in response to this disaster.

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How You Can Help

• Credit card/Bank transfer

https://apadm.org/donate/

• READYFOR crowdfunding

https://readyfor.jp/projects/SriLanka-cyclone2025

Yahoo! Donation
https://donation.yahoo.co.jp/detail/5144012