Flooding across Mullaitivu has forced thousands from their homes, severed major road links and left regions without electricity or telecommunications, as disaster officials warn that the true scale of damage remains unknown due to communication blackouts.
Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved the creation of a new “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” Fund in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah, but drawn criticism for not including women, Tamil representatives from the North-East or the hill-country community, and having no independent technical experts.
Instead, the leadership is dominated by senior figures from Colombo’s corporate sector.
Sri Lanka has appealed for at least Rs 31 billion in international assistance after catastrophic floods inflicted widespread damage across the island, destroying farmland, breaching irrigation systems and derailing the government’s attempts to stabilise the economy.
Sri Lanka’s navy has confirmed that all five personnel who went missing during a flood-mitigation operation in Chundikkulam have died, as search teams recovered their bodies.
As Cyclone Ditwah battered Sri Lanka this week, Tamil speakers complained of being left without life-saving information, as state institutions issued disaster warnings in Sinhala and English alone.
The Sri Lankan government has declared a state of emergency as Cyclone Ditwah continues to devastate the island, raising the death toll to 390 with a further 352 individuals reported missing.
The Indian military has assisted in relief efforts across Sri Lanka, with rescue operations and aid delivery conducted in flood-stricken regions, in what has been called Operation Sagar Bandhu.
Maaveerar Naal was commemorated in Herning and Kolbaek, Denmark last week.
