Cyclone Ditwah Brings Devastation to Sri Lanka's Capital as Death Toll Mounts
Flooding and mudslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah have wreaked havoc on Sri Lanka's capital city, Colombo, leaving nearly 200 dead and dozens more missing. The disaster has left the central region severely affected, with authorities slowly assessing the extent of the damage.
According to reports, entire areas of Colombo are submerged underwater as the water level in the Kelani River rose rapidly. Residents have been forced to flee their homes, with many sharing harrowing stories of destruction and chaos on social media. A 46-year-old resident from Wennawatte was seen carrying four bags of clothes and valuables as she left her flooded home, searching for safe shelter.
The National Building Research Organisation has warned of a high risk of further landslides due to the saturated mountain slopes caused by prolonged rainfall. The Sri Lankan president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has declared a state of emergency to deal with the aftermath of the cyclone and appealed for international aid.
India was the first country to respond, sending relief supplies and two helicopters for rescue missions. Pakistan and Japan are also providing assistance, while troops from the army, navy, and air force have been deployed alongside civilian workers and volunteers to assist with the relief effort.
The climate crisis has contributed to the severity of the storm patterns, including increased rainfall, flash flooding, and stronger wind gusts. The cyclone is Sri Lanka's deadliest natural disaster since 2017, when flooding and landslides claimed over 200 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
In a similar disaster that occurred in June 2003, 254 people lost their lives due to severe flooding. With the current situation on the ground worsening by the hour, international aid is desperately needed to mitigate the impact of this catastrophe on the affected communities.
Flooding and mudslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah have wreaked havoc on Sri Lanka's capital city, Colombo, leaving nearly 200 dead and dozens more missing. The disaster has left the central region severely affected, with authorities slowly assessing the extent of the damage.
According to reports, entire areas of Colombo are submerged underwater as the water level in the Kelani River rose rapidly. Residents have been forced to flee their homes, with many sharing harrowing stories of destruction and chaos on social media. A 46-year-old resident from Wennawatte was seen carrying four bags of clothes and valuables as she left her flooded home, searching for safe shelter.
The National Building Research Organisation has warned of a high risk of further landslides due to the saturated mountain slopes caused by prolonged rainfall. The Sri Lankan president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has declared a state of emergency to deal with the aftermath of the cyclone and appealed for international aid.
India was the first country to respond, sending relief supplies and two helicopters for rescue missions. Pakistan and Japan are also providing assistance, while troops from the army, navy, and air force have been deployed alongside civilian workers and volunteers to assist with the relief effort.
The climate crisis has contributed to the severity of the storm patterns, including increased rainfall, flash flooding, and stronger wind gusts. The cyclone is Sri Lanka's deadliest natural disaster since 2017, when flooding and landslides claimed over 200 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
In a similar disaster that occurred in June 2003, 254 people lost their lives due to severe flooding. With the current situation on the ground worsening by the hour, international aid is desperately needed to mitigate the impact of this catastrophe on the affected communities.
just saw videos of colombo underwater and i'm literally shook 
i don't know how those ppl are supposed to recover from this cyclone ditwah is like a real life game of god of war 
my heart goes out to the people of sri lanka they need our help ASAP 
i'm following all the updates on social media and it's getting more and more heartbreaking by the minute 
can't even imagine being in those ppl's shoes 
i just wanna give everyone a big hug 
and send them lots of love 
and of course, my heart belongs to sri lanka 24/7 
How can we even begin to comprehend the scale of destruction here? As someone who's super passionate about mental health, I can only imagine how traumatic this must be for the people affected... they're already dealing with loss & grief, then you add in the physical trauma of flooding & landslides... it's just devastating 
We need to be sending all our support (and aid) ASAP! 
the stats are so tragic 200+ dead and hundreds missing... it's like, what can we do to prevent this? 
sending positive vibes & thoughts to those affected 
anyway, gotta give a shoutout to india for being the first to respond though 
those helicopters are gonna make all the difference in this disaster. but seriously, where's the investment in infrastructure? they need better drainage systems and stuff or it's gonna keep happening 
I'm loving all the pics on social media tho, shows how bad it is 
. India, Pakistan, Japan sending aid is awesome 
this climate crisis is real & needs our attention 
200+ dead & dozens missing... it's heartbreaking 
. btw did u know that climate change has increased global temperatures by 1°C since 1880? 
and in the past century alone, we've seen a 15% increase in extreme weather events like cyclones! 
.
just a thought: when is the world gonna take climate change seriously? 
what we can do is spread awareness about climate change & help reduce our carbon footprint, maybe one day these kinds of disasters won't happen 
colombo is like, totally underwater right now 
let's hope the climate crisis thing is not a permanent resident in sri lanka's life 
.
It's heartbreaking to see countries struggling with natural disasters like Cyclone Ditwah. We gotta come together & help each other out! 
. and it's not like they're prepared for this kind of thing, with the climate crisis and all... we need to be doing more to help these countries and their communities before they get hit by natural disasters like this 
. anyway, kudos to india for stepping up with relief supplies and helicopters... hopefully pakistan and japan can too 
Like, can't we just have real-time maps or something? The climate crisis is a big deal and our platforms need to step up their game 