Torrential rains and flooding caused by Cyclone Ditwah have killed 123 people in Sri Lanka, the Disaster Management Center said on Saturday. Another 130 people were reported missing by the agency by 9:00 a.m.
The disaster affected more than 200,000 people from 61,000 families.
However, relief officials in the central Kandy province said the death toll could be much higher, as the death toll in Kandy district itself reached more than 50 late Friday and remained officially unconfirmed.
Badulla in the central hills is another district badly hit by the landslides with many people missing and more than 35 dead.
The flooding situation in low-lying areas worsened on Saturday, prompting authorities to issue an evacuation order for those living along the banks of the Kelani River, which flows into the Indian Ocean from Colombo.
Kelani overflowed its banks on Friday night, forcing hundreds of people to move to temporary shelters, the DMC said.
Sri Lanka: Weather Update
The rains have subsided in most parts of the island nation, including the capital, but parts of the north of the island were experiencing showers due to the residual effects of Cyclone Ditwah.
The weather system is moving away from the island towards neighboring India, the DMC said.
The Met Office said more rainfall above 200mm was expected, although Ditwah may leave the island by late Saturday.
Sri Lanka is facing one of its worst disasters as cyclonic storm Ditwah wreaked havoc, causing floods and landslides that left a trail of destruction and damage to infrastructure.
Cyclone Ditwah: When and where will the cyclone make landfall?
Cyclone Ditwah is expected to make landfall between northern Tamil Nadu and southern Andhra Pradesh between the evening of 29 November and the morning of 30 November.
The impact of the cyclone is expected to be widespread and will be felt on November 30 in several states including Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Operation Sagar Bandhu
India on Friday launched “Operation Sagar Bandhu” to help Sri Lanka in its hour of crisis and the first tranche of humanitarian supplies was handed over after the consignments were airlifted by the Indian Navy’s aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and frontline ship INS Udaigiri to the island nation.
The Indian Air Force on Saturday delivered 21 tonnes of relief material to Sri Lanka along with more than 80 NDRF personnel and eight tonnes of equipment to help those displaced by the devastating floods.
They also immediately deployed one C-130 and one IL-76 from Hindon Air Force Base on Friday night and transported 21 tons of relief material along with more than 80 NDRF personnel and eight tons of equipment.
Essential rations and critical supplies were delivered to support affected communities.
