Mawathura: Four days after Cyclone Ditwah carved a trail of devastation through Sri Lanka, grief-stricken families in the central highlands continue to sift through thick mud and shattered debris in a desperate attempt to recover the missing. The once-peaceful village of Mawathura now bears the scars of a catastrophic landslide that flattened 13 homes, burying entire families beneath cascading soil and rock.
The disaster has pushed Sri Lanka into one of its darkest humanitarian crises in recent memory. Officials confirm 474 deaths, while over 350 individuals are still unaccounted for, heightening fears that the toll may rise as recovery efforts uncover more bodies. In Mawathura, small groups of villagers armed with shovels, sticks and bare hands continue their heartbreaking search, refusing to abandon hope despite crumbling slopes and persistent rainfall.
For many, the search has already turned into mourning. A local bakery owner, who lost multiple family members in the landslide, recounted how he and neighbours retrieved bodies in the night and conducted hasty burials. “We had no coffins, no rituals—only a sheet to wrap them in,” he said, his voice breaking as he described the scale of loss the community now faces.
Beyond Mawathura, the cyclone’s destruction has wiped out livelihoods along the highlands. In Gampola, shopkeepers returned to find shelves overturned and stock ruined under thick sludge. One electrical-appliance shop owner estimated damages of nearly 7 million rupees, noting that televisions, radios and gadgets that once filled his showroom were now submerged in mud, unsalvageable.
Nationwide, the cyclone has disrupted the lives of 1.2 million people, according to government authorities. Thousands remain displaced, staying in temporary shelters as army and police personnel work to clear blocked roads, restore power, and distribute essential supplies. Rescue teams continue to access remote pockets where communication lines remain broken, raising concerns that several communities may still be cut off.
Officials warn that long-term recovery will involve difficult decisions, including the potential relocation of landslide-prone villages. Geological teams have begun surveying unstable terrain, underscoring the need for safer settlement planning in a region increasingly threatened by extreme weather events.
Even as the official machinery struggles under mounting pressure, ordinary Sri Lankans continue to shoulder the burden of recovery digging, mourning, and supporting one another. On the scarred slopes of Mawathura, hope persists, though tempered by the grim reality that each passing hour makes the search for survivors more unlikely.
For now, the people of Sri Lanka press on, driven by determination and solidarity, as the nation grapples with the immense human and environmental cost left behind by Cyclone Ditwah.