{"id":53809,"date":"2025-11-30T03:47:29","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T03:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/?p=53809"},"modified":"2025-11-30T03:47:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T03:47:29","slug":"cyclone-ditwa-devastates-sri-lanka-153-dead-thousands-displaced-india-sends-major-relief-aid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/30\/cyclone-ditwa-devastates-sri-lanka-153-dead-thousands-displaced-india-sends-major-relief-aid\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyclone Ditwa Devastates Sri Lanka: 153 Dead, Thousands Displaced; India Sends Major Relief Aid"},"content":{"rendered":"

Colombo\/Chennai:<\/strong> Cyclone Ditwa<\/strong> has unleashed large-scale destruction across Sri Lanka, triggering the worst floods since 2003<\/strong>. According to the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, 153 people have died<\/strong>, while hundreds remain missing<\/strong> as rescue operations continue across the island nation.<\/p>\n

Half of Sri Lanka Affected by Massive Flooding<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Cyclone Ditwa caused torrential rainfall and flash floods, leaving more than half of Sri Lanka severely affected<\/strong>. The unprecedented deluge has displaced communities, washed away homes, and damaged key infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Authorities reported that nearly 44,000 people have been evacuated<\/strong> to relief camps and safer locations. The Sri Lankan Army is leading large-scale rescue and relief operations<\/strong>, providing food, shelter, and medical support to flood-hit families.<\/p>\n

India Launches \u2018Operation Sagar Bandhu\u2019 for Emergency Assistance<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In a significant humanitarian effort, India has rushed immediate support<\/strong> to Sri Lanka. Under Operation Sagar Bandhu<\/em>, the Indian Air Force (IAF)<\/strong> deployed a C-130J aircraft carrying 12 tonnes of relief materials<\/strong>, including essential supplies, tents, and medical kits.<\/p>\n

A Chetak IN R11 Vikrant helicopter<\/strong> has been pressed into action to rescue stranded civilians from remote and inaccessible regions. The helicopter teams continue to lift people trapped on rooftops and isolated village pockets.<\/p>\n

An 80-member NDRF team<\/strong> has also reached Sri Lanka to strengthen ground-level rescue operations. India has additionally sent 6.5 metric tonnes of food items and medicines<\/strong> for cyclone-affected families.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of Indian Passengers Stranded in Colombo<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Due to the cyclone\u2019s impact on regional weather patterns, Chennai Airport cancelled 54 flights<\/strong>, including services to and from Sri Lanka. As a result, nearly 300 Indian travellers are stranded at Colombo Airport<\/strong>, awaiting restoration of flight services.<\/p>\n

Authorities have advised passengers to remain in contact with airline help desks for further updates.<\/p>\n

Cyclone Ditwa: A Wake-up Call for Disaster Preparedness<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Meteorologists describe Cyclone Ditwa as one of the most powerful cyclonic systems<\/strong> in the region in recent years. The disaster has sparked discussions around climate resilience, early warning systems, and urban flood management<\/strong> across South Asia.<\/p>\n

With rescue and rehabilitation efforts still underway, the full extent of damage is expected to emerge in the coming days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Colombo\/Chennai: Cyclone Ditwa has unleashed large-scale destruction across Sri Lanka, triggering the worst floods since 2003. According to the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, 153 people have died, while hundreds remain missing as rescue operations continue across the island nation. Half of Sri Lanka Affected by Massive Flooding Cyclone Ditwa caused torrential rainfall and flash […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":53810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[241,240,234,237,239,238,243,236,242,235],"class_list":{"0":"post-53809","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-chennai-flight-cancellations","9":"tag-colombo-airport-flights-cancelled","10":"tag-cyclone-ditwa","11":"tag-india-relief-to-sri-lanka","12":"tag-ndrf-sri-lanka","13":"tag-operation-sagar-bandhu","14":"tag-sri-lanka-breaking-news","15":"tag-sri-lanka-cyclone-death-toll","16":"tag-sri-lanka-disaster-management","17":"tag-sri-lanka-floods"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cyclone-ditwa-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53809"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53811,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53809\/revisions\/53811"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}