Over 80 dead as cyclonic storm leaves 'unprecedented' trail of destruction in Sri Lanka
Colombo (PTI): Sri Lanka on Friday grappled with one of its worst disasters as cyclonic storm Ditwah wreaked havoc, causing floods and landslides that left more than 80 dead, amid a trail of destruction and damage to infrastructure.
India launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu' to assist Sri Lanka in its hour of crisis, and the first tranche of relief materials was handed over after the consignments were transported by the Indian Navy's aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and frontline ship INS Udaigiri to the island nation.
The relief came as Sri Lankan authorities warned of an “unprecedented disaster situation” in the Western Province from Friday night due to rising water levels in the Kelani and Attanagalu rivers.
Both Colombo and the next most populous district of Gampaha are under severe threat, prompting officials to urge residents in vulnerable areas to evacuate, they said.
Late on Friday, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) confirmed more than 80 people have died, while 34 remain missing in the past three days, as rescue operations intensify, according to news portal NewsFirst.lk.
The DMC said as many as 1,48,603 individuals from 44,192 families were suffering due to widespread flooding, while 5,024 families (approximately 14,000 people) had taken shelter in 195 emergency centres.
Scores of houses were destroyed completely or partially, leaving thousands homeless as Cyclone Ditwah unleashed torrential rainfall, triggering extensive flooding, landslides in central hill regions and major disruptions in other parts that have left several areas inaccessible.
“It is unlikely this situation will change. We expect the Kelani River’s water levels to exceed those recorded during the 2016 floods,” Director General Ajith Gunasekara told reporters.
He urged residents in vulnerable locations to secure essential items, including educational certificates, vehicle documents and valuables, before relocating to safer ground.
The central Matale district recorded the highest rainfall in the 24 hours ending 6 am Thursday, receiving 540 mm, authorities said.
Three major bridges — Moragahakanda Main Bridge, Elahera Bridge, and Kumara Ella Bridge — were washed away, cutting off vital transport routes and isolating communities in Matale, Polonnaruwa, Kurunegala, and Uva provinces, all routes crucial for trade, agriculture, and relief convoys.
The disaster management officials said that the severity of the weather has significantly hindered the ability of officials to reach affected sites or carry out on-ground assessments and rescue efforts.
The Irrigation Department issued a further warning that the Kelani river is approaching historically high flood levels, posing a severe risk to Colombo and surrounding areas for the next two days, the news portal said.
Severe weather has also caused widespread power outages, affecting 25 to 30 per cent of the region.
Two major hydropower plants, Kotmale and Rantambe, were shut down after a power cable failure, said Shirley Kumara, general manager of the Ceylon Electricity Board.
As of 5:30 pm Friday, the cyclonic storm Ditwah lay centred about 40 kilometres west-northwest of Trincomalee in eastern Sri Lanka, officials said, adding, it was moving north-northwest, dumping massive rainfall.
The Indian High Commission, in a statement, said New Delhi has so far provided 4.5 tonnes of dry rations and 2 tonnes of fresh rations, including staple foods, packaged and ready-to-eat items, dairy and bakery products, beverages, and other nutritional essentials.
Additional survival supplies have also been handed over, it said.
Meanwhile, the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) described the current situation as “extraordinary and unprecedented” and warned that landslides could occur at any moment in any mountainous region due to the prevailing severe weather conditions.
The director of the NBRO’s Landslide Research Division told local media that landslides can occur when rainfall exceeds 150 mm within 24 hours. “Several mountainous areas have (already) received more than 500 mm of rainfall during the past 24 hours,” he said on Friday afternoon.
“The total rainfall during the past 10 days is close to 1,000 mm. This situation is unlike anything we have ever experienced,” he said.
Earlier in the day, a diplomatic briefing was held at the Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya's office, and attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath.
The Colombo-based Heads of Mission were updated on the Sri Lankan government’s ongoing emergency flood relief operations and recovery measures, and they were told that the government has designated an officer to handle inquiries regarding foreign tourists affected by the current disaster situation, according to the PM’s Office.
According to local media, several important examinations were postponed due to the precarious flood situation, authorities announced.
In response to the disaster caused by Cyclone Ditwah, President Dissanayake invoked powers under the Essential Public Services Act, declaring a wide range of services as “essential” to the life of the community reeling under severe adverse weather conditions.
These services include electricity supply; supply or distribution of petroleum products, fuel, including gas; hospitals, water supply, and public transport.
All long-distance express, intercity, and night mail trains on every railway line were cancelled, with several train services resuming on Friday evening only within the Western Province, according to railway authorities.
VIDEO | Colombo, Sri Lanka: Officials evacuate people via helicopters from deadly floods.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 28, 2025
Sri Lanka began grappling with severe weather last week and the conditions worsened on Thursday with heavy downpours that flooded homes, fields and roads, and triggered landslides across… pic.twitter.com/Hn7KkAVcf0
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
