INDIA RUSHES AID AS DITWAH DEVASTATES SRI LANKA

Cyclone Ditwah has left a deadly trail in Sri Lanka and is now closing in on the Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coast with severe rains and gale-force winds.

- TDG NETWORK

Evacuation of Indian passengers stranded in Sri Lanka in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah continues through commercial airlines and Indian Air Force flights, in Colombo on Sunday. ANI

Cyclone Ditwah has left Sri Lanka devastated, with 193 people confirmed dead and 228 still missing, even as the storm pushes northwards towards the Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coast on Sunday. A week of unrelenting rain has triggered severe flooding and mudslides across the island, and the extent of destruction emerged only after blocked routes were cleared. Flooding continues along the Kelani River in Colombo, while Manampitiya and other central towns have reported catastrophic damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure.

The crisis has deepened with a critical shortage of blood supplies, with only 236 units collected on Saturday against a daily need of 1,500. Authorities have warned of further landslides as rain-soaked mountain slopes remain unstable. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has declared a nationwide emergency and appealed for global assistance. India and Japan were among the first to respond, as Sri Lanka faces its deadliest natural disaster since 2017, with over 25,000 homes destroyed, 147,000 people in shelters and nearly one million needing assistance.