Cyclone Ditwah and the politics of disaster

In November 'Cyclone Ditwah' hit our country in all its fury.

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With wind speeds of over 80 kmph, it brought with it 150-500 mm of rainfall for three consecutive days, triggering the worst landslides and flooding in the country in 20 years. Power outages, floods/wash away of major roads and landslides resulted.The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) and UN reports confirmed the cyclone destroyed or damaged more than 86,000 homes. The report added that around 188,000 people had taken shelter in government-run shelters. In all, the cyclone adversely affected more than 1.6 million across the country. Over six-hundred deaths have been confirmed while over 200 persons remain missing. It is quite normal that in times of disaster, people despite differences of race, religion and ethnicity, come together to help one and other. During the tsunami, even though we were in the middle of a brutal civil war, Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers and Adivasis put aside their differences to save lives.