Sri Lanka was on Saturday picking up pieces after widespread destruction caused by a powerful cyclone with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake declaring a state of emergency throughout the country as the death toll rose to over 150.
As harrowing tales of people either buried in landslides or swept away by flash floods emerged from across the provinces due to Cyclone Ditwah, India sent around 21 tonnes of relief materials in two military transport aircraft under its 'Operation Sagar Bandhu,' a day after delivering the first tranche of over six tonnes of essential supplies.
As waters receded with the cyclone moving away from Sri Lanka, authorities warned that the indirect effects will continue.
The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) report said that the death toll resulting from the adverse weather conditions since Thursday has risen to 153.
In a statement issued at 7 pm (local time), the DMC confirmed that apart from the over 150 deaths, 191 individuals remain missing as search and relief operations continue across multiple districts.
A whopping 7,74,724 people from 2,17,263 families in 25 districts have been affected by the disaster as many areas continue to experience challenges due to flooding, landslides, and heavy rains.
The DMC further stated that 1,00,898 people from 27,494 families are currently sheltered in 798 evacuation centres around the country.
According to an official gazette dated Friday and released on Saturday, the state of emergency has been declared throughout the island.
With the state of emergency, the government has moved to provide the district secretaries with discretion of expenditure up to 50 million Sri Lankan rupees.
The Indian Air Force has deployed two transport aircraft -- C-130 and IL-76 -- carrying paramilitary personnel and relief material as part of India's humanitarian assistance extended to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu, reaffirming the spirit of ‘Neighbourhood First.'
India also sent two urban search and rescue teams comprising 80 National Disaster Response Force personnel even as two Chetak helicopters on board aircraft carrier INS Vikrant joined the rescue efforts.
Earlier in the day, Athula Karunanayake, Director General of the Meteorology Department, told reporters: “We noticed Ditwah exiting Sri Lanka and heading towards the Indian coast.”
Although the direct effects of the cyclone have subsided, the indirect effects will continue, he said.
Rainfall exceeding 100 mm is possible in some areas of the Northern, North Central, North Eastern, and Central provinces, while the Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces are expected to receive rainfall exceeding 50 mm, he said.
In the northwestern region of Pannala, 25 people in an elders' care home were swept away by floods but 14 of them were rescued, the police said.
Reports of people buried alive surfaced from most areas in the central and southwestern provinces where search and rescue operations are being continued.
However, people from scores of areas from the central province remain totally cut off without road access and mobile phone systems breaking down due to lack of electricity, officials said.
The Sri Lankan Army said some 68 people trapped on a bus in the Northwestern Province's Kalaoya area were rescued by the navy early on Saturday morning in an operation which lasted several hours.
The military deployed over 24,000 troops in the rescue mission and rescued 2,453 people, the Army Commander Lasantha Rodrigo said, adding that over 43,000 affected people were sent to 488 relief centres.
“We received generous assistance from India in our rescue operations. Two Indian aircraft came -- the C130 brought in essentials, while the IL 76 brought 80 personnel to assist us,” Rodrigo said.
Cyclone Ditwah caused spills in all major reservoirs and rivers with authorities warning people to evacuate.
Nearly 35 per cent of the areas in the island are without power since early Friday with around 7 million of the state power entity Ceylon Electricity Board customers affected.
The restoration work has been hampered by the relentless rains and floods.
Meanwhile, the US announced an immediate allocation of 2 million dollars to support emergency relief efforts while the government of Maldives has decided to extend relief assistance to Sri Lanka through financial support of USD 50,000 and a donation of 25,000 cases of tuna cans.
Rain triggered by Cyclone Ditwah lashes Tamil Nadu
Rain triggered by Cyclone Ditwah lashed the coastal areas and Cauvery delta districts on Saturday, with Ramanathapuram and Nagapattinam districts bearing the brunt.
Normal life in Rameswaram was affected for the second day today owing to continuous rain accompanied by gusty winds.
Few trees were uprooted in Nagapattinam, which also experienced heavy rains, an official said.
According to State Revenue and Disaster Management Minister K K S S R Ramachandran, it was not clear if Cyclone Ditwah will hit the coast near Chennai. But the state government is fully prepared to launch rescue and relief activities on a war footing, he said.
"About 28 disaster response teams, including SDRF and NDRF teams, are on standby. We are planning to airlift 10 more teams from other states. The Air Force and Coast Guard have also been alerted. Additionally, monitoring teams will be sent to the districts tomorrow," the minister told reporters here.
There have been no fatalities so far, but 16 livestock have died, and 24 huts have been damaged. "There has been no major impact due to the rain so far. However, the state government is continuously monitoring the situation and has readied teams for rescue and relief operations," he said.
As many as 6,000 relief camps have been established in the districts. Reports from the weather office suggest that the cyclone may pass parallel to the Chennai coast and may fetch heavy rain, he said, and urged the public to follow Chief Minister M K Stalin's advice on remaining safe.
According to an official, 14 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have already been deployed in the vulnerable districts in the state, including Villupuram, Chengalpattu, Tiruvallur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Mayiladuthurai. Additional teams have been allocated for Puducherry and Chennai.
Fishermen from Chennai, Rameswaram, Pamban, Nagapattinam, and other coastal districts did not venture into the sea for the second consecutive day today owing to the rough weather conditions.
The delta districts of Nagapattinam, Thiruvarur, Thanjavur, Mayiladuthurai, Pudukkottai, Karur, Perambalur, Ariyalur and Tiruchirappalli and Karaikal in neghbouring Puducherry received heavy rains accompanied by strong winds.
Farmers claimed paddy crops raised on about one lakh acres of land and other crops were submerged in water.
In Chennai, an official of the Water Resources Department said surplus water from Chembarambakkam and Poondi reservoirs would be let out into the sea as a precaution to safeguard the dams.
The Chennai airport authorities said about 54 flights to various districts in the state have been cancelled owing to the cyclone.
"With the IMD warning that Cyclone Ditwah would cause heavy to very heavy rainfall today with wind velocity of 10-15 knots, gusting up to 25 knots, from the north-easterly direction, the Chennai Airport is taking all precautionary measures," the Chennai Airport said in a post on 'X'.
The Southern Railway has announced changes in the pattern of train services for December due to the cyclone.
"The wind velocity at Pamban Bridge has receded and was now within the prescribed threshold limit. Hence, the resumption of train traffic to Rameswaram will be announced soon," a release said.
A tourist van got stranded in an area marooned near a canal in Ramanthapuram district. The occupants, however, had a providential escape as they managed to step out through the rear door.
The district administration has warned people not to venture out unnecessarily due to the adverse weather conditions of strong gales and heavy downpour.
Tourists have been asked not to visit Dhanushokodi on the south-eastern tip of Pamban Island, which is west of Talaimannar in Sri Lanka, as a precaution. The town was destroyed in the 1964 cyclone in Rameswaram.
Several parts in the state, including Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Thiruvidaimarudur, Kumbakonam, Papanasam, Thiruvaiyaru, Pattukottai, Cuddalore and parts of Chennai, received heavy rain. Strong winds and high tides, accompanied by rainfall, was reported in Ramanthapuram and Nagapattinam districts.
"The Cyclonic Storm Ditwah over coastal Sri Lanka and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal moved north-northwestwards with the speed of 8 kmph during past 6 hours and lay centered at 5.30 am today over the southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining north Sri Lanka," the IMD said.
It lay 190 km south-southeast of Karaikal, 300 km south-southeast of Puducherry, and 400 km south of Chennai, and is very likely to continue to move north-northwestwards and reach over southwest Bay of Bengal near North Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts by early morning of November 30, the weather bulletin said.
Private weather bloggers said there was no change in the cyclone's track and that it moved parallel to the Tamil Nadu coast, and it would bring more rain over Chennai, Cuddalore and Puducherry by tonight.
The name, 'Ditwah', referring to a lagoon, was suggested by Yemen. It is likely named after Detwah Lagoon, a large, saline lagoon on the northwest coast of the island of Socotra in Yemen.
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