As December 2025 dawned, the Indian subcontinent’s southern tip was battered by the full force of nature. Cyclone Ditwah, one of the most severe cyclonic events in recent history, unleashed devastation across Sri Lanka and southern India, leaving a trail of destruction that has stunned even seasoned disaster responders. The numbers alone are staggering, but behind the statistics are stories of loss, resilience, and a region’s desperate struggle to recover.
In Sri Lanka, the scale of the disaster is almost unimaginable. According to Report, citing the Disaster Management Center’s latest situation report, torrential rains exceeding 500mm, triggered by Cyclone Ditwah, swept across 25 districts on December 2, 2025. The result: catastrophic floods and landslides that have affected over 1.55 million people from 437,507 families nationwide. The death toll has climbed to 465, with 366 people still missing. The numbers continue to rise as rescue teams reach previously inaccessible areas.
Kandy district bore the heaviest human toll, reporting 118 deaths and 171 missing, as landslides swallowed entire villages without warning. Badulla and Nuwara Eliya, both in the island’s hill country, reported 83 and 89 deaths respectively. The combined toll for Kurunegala and Puttalam stands at 80 fatalities, with thousands more stranded and awaiting rescue. Even the economic hubs of Colombo and Gampaha have not been spared, with nearly half a million people affected as floodwaters submerged neighborhoods and paralyzed daily life.
“This is the first of a lifetime,” Elkaduwa resident Mohan Shivaprakashan told ITV News. “I never experienced anything like this. It is hard to describe.” His village, once a tranquil corner of Sri Lanka’s Central Province, is now cut off from the world. Both access roads—Matale to Elkaduwa and Kandy to Elkaduwa—have been washed away or obliterated by landslides, leaving the community isolated for a week. Around 3,000 to 4,000 families, nearly 10,000 people across three villages, are stranded. Food shops are empty, water is scarce, and mobile networks are patchy at best.
Elkaduwa recorded nearly 450mm of rain, among the highest anywhere in Sri Lanka. Residents say no one anticipated the speed at which their world would collapse. “The ground cracked. Houses broke apart. Landslides came down everywhere at once,” Mohan recalled. “People were asleep. They had no place to run except the school or the temple.” In a neighboring village, seven people were killed when a bridge gave way, and between 50 and 60 houses are now unlivable, either tilted, fractured, or buried under shifting earth.
Electricity has been out since November 27, and with both roads gone, no delivery trucks have reached the area. “There is no water in the village,” resident Priyanka Dhawanthi told ITV News. “We are so upset. We are in the middle of nowhere. We don’t have food to eat. We are so sad.” The crisis deepens daily as relief teams struggle to navigate landslide-blocked routes. Helicopters from Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan have been dropping food parcels and rescuing the injured, but thousands remain unreachable, marooned on isolated hilltops or valley floors.
Across the country, the devastation is immense: 783 homes have been completely destroyed, 31,417 partially damaged, and 61,875 families displaced and sheltering in 1,433 safety centers. Over 232,752 individuals are crammed into temporary shelters, while thousands more await rescue in remote areas. UNICEF estimates at least 275,000 children have been impacted, many now living in makeshift camps or cut off from safe water and basic services.
Authorities acknowledge they are overwhelmed. “For us, this is four to five times bigger than the tsunami,” Mohan said, referencing the 2004 disaster that remains seared in Sri Lanka’s national memory. “People cannot communicate. They don’t know if their relatives are alive. It is like a massacre.” Recovery, he believes, could take months or even years, with some villages possibly needing to be permanently relocated. For now, many remain unable to leave until access routes reopen. “Whatever help humanitarian agencies can give, we will accept. People want a peaceful life again. Essentials, shelter, a safe place. If they can’t live here anymore, then help them start somewhere else,” Mohan pleaded.
The Sri Lanka Armed Forces, police, and volunteers are working around the clock, but access remains a challenge. Relief teams struggle to reach isolated communities, and roads remain impassable. According to ITV News, teams surveying the damage describe homes swallowed, roads erased, and lone roofs protruding from mud, with families waiting beside landslide scars in search of missing loved ones. The emotional impact, for many, may be even deeper than the loss of infrastructure—it is the loss of entire landscapes, livelihoods, and identities.
While Sri Lanka reels, neighboring southern India has also suffered under Cyclone Ditwah’s relentless assault. In Tamil Nadu, heavy rain and flooding have particularly affected Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, and Chengalpet districts. State disaster management Minister K K S S R Ramachandran confirmed on December 2 that the death toll in Tamil Nadu had risen to four, including one person electrocuted in Villupuram. The cyclone, though weakened into a low-pressure area, continued to dump rain through the morning of December 3, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).
The agricultural impact is severe: more than 85,500 hectares of paddy fields have been inundated, with a full crop damage assessment still pending. In addition, 582 heads of cattle have died, and 1,601 huts and houses have been damaged. The government has set up 54 relief camps across the state, accommodating 3,534 people from 1,127 families. “Food, drinking water, and all basic amenities were provided to them,” Ramachandran assured, as reported by local media. In Chennai, 10 National Disaster Response Force teams—comprising 330 personnel—were kept ready to assist wherever required.
The cyclone’s path defied forecasts, staying closer to Chennai instead of moving north toward the Andhra Pradesh coast. “The forecast of IMD and the private weather stations went wrong as cyclone stayed closer to Chennai,” Ramachandran conceded. The result was unexpected, prolonged rainfall that left large tracts of agricultural fields underwater and forced thousands from their homes.
Back in Sri Lanka, the focus now shifts to recovery and rebuilding. Many villagers, like those in Elkaduwa, face a future of uncertainty. “Recovery might take months, or maybe years, to get this village back again. Maybe they will need to build new roads entirely,” Mohan reflected as he stood near the remains of his fractured home. For now, the world watches and waits, hoping that aid will reach those most in need and that the region’s resilience will see it through the long road ahead.
The scars left by Cyclone Ditwah will not heal quickly, but amid the devastation, communities across Sri Lanka and southern India are showing remarkable courage—determined to rebuild, recover, and reclaim their lives from the wreckage.