Cyclone Ditwah triggered one of the most severe flood disasters in Sri Lanka’s recent history, with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reporting that 1.1 million hectares, nearly 20% of the country’s land, were submerged.

The cyclone made landfall on November 28 along the eastern coast, unleashing relentless rainfall that caused widespread flooding and over 1,200 landslides across multiple districts. According to a joint assessment by UNDP and Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre, around 2.3 million people were directly exposed to cyclone-driven flooding.

Pre-Existing Vulnerabilities Deepened

The report highlights that the disaster’s physical impacts have been intensified by deep pre-existing socioeconomic vulnerabilities. Nearly 720,000 buildings were exposed to floodwat

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