A national and international partner ship catalysed by a national tragedy

Sri Lanka was one of four Asian countries to be hit by cyclones at virtually the same time. The international media reported that cyclone-fueled downpours battered parts of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia while Sri Lanka was struck by a separate storm. In those countries too, which are visited more regularly by cyclones than Sri Lanka, the death toll reached the hundreds.

- by Jehan Perera

The death toll is presently 365 with a similar number remaining missing. The full scale of the disaster wreaked on Sri Lanka by Cyclone Ditwah is still to be realised. Initial assessments indicate that more than 15,000 houses have been destroyed. Over 200 roads remain impassable, at least 10 bridges have been damaged, and sections of the rail network and national power grid affected.

Unlike other disasters that were confined to a part of the country, such as the tsunami of 2004, this cyclone has affected virtually the whole of the country. Tragically, the destruction caused by the cyclone will impact heavily on the economic recovery that was being anticipated. Sri Lanka will need resources beyond what it possesses and will require international assistance on a large scale in a world of conflict that has become less generous. The government's foreign policy achievement was the immediate response from India which had one of its aircraft carriers in Sri Lankan waters on a friendly visit and immediately deployed it for rescue efforts. As in 2022 when the economy collapsed due to mismanagement and corruption, India has stepped in first again to mitigate the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the cyclone.