By PTI December 3, 2025, 12:36:28 PM IST
Sri Lanka’s total economic loss from Cyclone Ditwah is estimated at $6–7 billion, roughly 3–5% of GDP, a senior recovery official said on Wednesday, December 3.
At least 465 people have died and 366 remain missing as the country faces widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse. Several districts are isolated and the disaster-response system is under extreme strain.
“Given that all 25 districts are affected, we estimate the cost would be $6–7 billion,” Prabath Chandrakirthi, Commissioner General of Essential Services, told reporters.
More than 1.4 million people have been affected, with over 233,000 sheltering in 1,441 relief centres. Chandrakirthi said new legal measures will be needed to speed up post-disaster procedures—for example, death certificates currently can only be issued after six months, a period he said must be shortened.
The government has temporarily allowed imports of frozen vegetables after landslides and floods devastated main vegetable-growing areas in the central hill districts. Kandy reported the highest death toll at 118, followed by Nuwara Eliya with 89 and Badulla with 83.
Household support has been increased: the house-cleaning allowance for affected families was raised from LKR 10,000 to LKR 25,000 and will be paid without ownership verification. According to the Disaster Management Centre, 783 homes have been destroyed and 31,417 partially damaged.
Telecommunications authorities expect all disrupted services to be restored by Thursday. More than 4,000 communication towers went offline due to floods and landslides; about 2,800 have already been restored.
